Atlanta Braves: What do Marlins fans think about dealing Yelich or Realmuto?

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Anybody But Acuna

TT: From my reading of things, it seems that most clubs are not interested in offering their top prospect(s) for either player (Yelich or Realmuto). As a prime example, Ronald Acuna isn’t going anywhere (which actually makes sense – he’s not too dissimilar from Yelich anyway). Do you think that a trade – with anyone – could be done without a Top 10 overall prospect involved?

MM: No. I think this is part of the negotiating process. Teams can claim they won’t give up a top-10 prospect, but Yelich’s value is through the roof for the contract he has. He’s just beginning his prime and his cheap contract will be a steal for a team who is attempting to add pieces without dishing out $300 million dollar contracts.

The Marlins must require at least one top-10 prospect – hopefully two – if they’re to find the right value. Giancarlo Stanton was a salary dump and was picky of what team he wanted to land with. Marcell Ozuna was a pretty fair trade considering he’s coming off a career-high year offensively, and his contract is up after the 2020 season. Yelich is neither of those – and the Marlins need to treat this trade completely different from any others thus far.

So… Prado? Ziegler?

TT: The Marlins should clearly be looking for prospects in exchange for Yelich/Realmuto, but do you think a player-plus-bad-contract swap might still be on the table in some form?

MM: Absolutely not. The Marlins are one of the cheapest franchises in sports, and they want to continue to cut bad contracts in baseball. Dumping Yelich – a cheap contract – further supports the idea of a complete rebuild with no financial restrictions. Miami is trying to trade Yelich, but they aren’t desperate. They can even afford to wait until the All-Star break, if need be.

(Ed. note – this is wholly consistent with what I have been expecting (see also the answer to the prior question): Stanton and Ozuna were dumped more for salary-reduction purposes. At this point, the Marlins are pivoting to ‘rebuild mode’ and looking exclusively for young prospect talent.)

What it Would Take

More from Tomahawk Take

TT: Since the Braves aren’t going to offer Acuna, what else from Atlanta do you believe might be reasonably acceptable for one of the Yelich/Realmuto tandem?

MM:

One of: Kyle Wright, Mike Soroka or Ian Anderson
One of: Austin Riley (3B), Travis Demeritte (INF) or Drew Waters (OF)
Throw-in prospect (maybe reliever with decent upside).

TT: What are your expectations? Will either player still be with the club on Opening Day?

MM: I think Yelich gets traded before the start of the season. If I had to put my money on it, I’d say Toronto will make the deal for him. The Blue Jays refuse to go into complete rebuilding mode, and adding an inexpensive piece like Yelich to continue their reloading phase helps them stay afloat in the extremely competitive AL East.

Next: Don't overlook Camargo this season

Many thanks to Brandon Carusillo, co-editor at Marlin Maniac for working through this with us… honestly, if those expectations are consistent with those of the Marlins’ Front Office, I would also expect to see Yelich dealt within the next month or so… with Realmuto following by perhaps the July trading deadline.

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