If the payroll-cutting Marlins only trade one of center fielder Christian Yelich or left fielder Marcell Ozuna this offseason, it’s more likely to be the former, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. Parting with Yelich instead of Ozuna would save the Marlins less money in the near term, but they value Ozuna’s on- and off-field contributions so much that they’re inclined to keep him, per Cafardo. Ozuna is a Scott Boras client with just two years of control remaining and a projected $10.9MM coming his way in 2018. Yelich, on the other hand, will make $7MM next year – the third season of a long-term deal that looks like one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is controllable for five more seasons, including a 2022 club option for $15MM, at a combined $58.25MM.
Of course, the highest-profile Marlins outfielder is Giancarlo Stanton, who also has the biggest contract ($295MM through 2028, unless he opts out after 2020). While Stanton will be popular in the rumor mill over the next several months, there was “buzz” late in the season that he’d use his full no-trade clause to reject a deal to the Phillies, who are interested in him and Yelich, Cafardo relays. Stanton has made it clear that he’s tired of losing, something the Phillies have done plenty of in recent years, though they’re seemingly trending upward and figure to return to their high-payroll ways in the near future.
More from the National League:
- The Giants are interested in hiring Jim Hickey as their next pitching coach, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports (on Twitter). The position opened up Saturday when San Francisco shifted longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti to its front office. Like Righetti, the well-regarded Hickey brings vast experience working with hurlers, having served as the Rays’ pitching coach from 2006-17.
- Hickey is also drawing serious interest from the Cubs, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended). He’d take over for Chris Bosio, whom the Cubs fired Saturday, and would reunite in Chicago with former Rays manager Joe Maddon. Letting go of Bosio may have been a front office-driven move, posits Sharma, who notes that president of baseball operations Theo Epsein was particularly disappointed in the bullpen’s last-ranked walk rate in 2017. The struggles of midseason acquisition Justin Wilson, who was terrific out of Detroit’s bullpen but undependable as part of Chicago’s, likely helped lead to Bosio’s ouster, Sharma suggests. Across 17 2/3 innings with the Cubs, Wilson walked 19 (compared to 16 in 40 1/3 innings as a Tiger) and logged a 5.09 ERA. Consequently, he appeared in only one of the Cubs’ 10 playoff games.
So all we gotta do is try to win to convince Stanton to sign..
Would adding Cobb and Arrieta, plus supplementry guys like Bryan Shaw and Daniel Nava do that?
Idk, very few teams have a money, plus the means to trade for Stanton, if he doesn’t want Philly, NYY can hold out until the Marlins give up Stanton for nothing
My beginning part was clearly just wishful thinking, for those you missed the point
The Stanton situation has a very Johan Santana feel to it.
Yeah, Daniel Nava is the answer.
1) Yelich stunk this year
2) Ozuna was great and the Marlins would love to deal him but no one wants a Boras client with two seasons left
3)Stanton did not reject the Phillies, their few intelligent fans rejected Stanton and his whiffs in favor of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado
1. Do you understand baseball?
2. Do you understand baseball?
3. I think you’re confusing “intelligent fans” with “way too optimistic fans”
I don’t know what trauma the Phillies did to Casey’s Partner but any chance to slam the Phils he jumps at. I swear there could be an article simply announcing the creation of Pro Bocce Ball Rumors and he’d post about Jeanmar Gomez.
Anyway, I find it hard to see a team trading a player who just hit 50 home runs to another team in their division. Especially with new ownership. What a great way to quickly get a fanbase against you.
Every team would want Marcel Ozuna. No team would be averse to having a Boras client with two years of remaining control. It’s about the same as having any other agent’s client with two years of remaining control- you’re likely to have the guy for two years. The overwhelmingly main point of trading for someone is to get him for however long he is under control, get his years after that. That is what free agency is for.
“Yelich stunk this year”. He batted .282/.369/.432, along with 18 homers, and 16 stolen bases. Yea his defense in center wasn’t super, but ignoring that, he’s an all-star. Plus, he raised his walk rate.
This is a troll post, it just has to be.
If the Phillies & Marlins make a deal to send Stanton to the Phillies he’d waive his no-trade clause. Gee, let’s see…a Phillies team that has a lot of young players/prospects and is trending upward, and has a history of spending big dollars, or staying with the Marlins who have made it clear they will not spend money, leaving Stanton as the only quality player on the roster if he stays.
Although I think it would be foolish for the Phillies to trade for Stanton. Yes, he’s great…when he plays. But he’s played 130+ games in 3 of 7 years. Not a good trend. And that $30M per year can be better spent on Harper and/or Machado.
If its between Stanton and Machado thats not even close. Stanton is the far better player
Comparing apples to oranges, but position definitely factors in. If Franco has another season like this one, plus given their OF depth in the minors (and lack of 3B depth), Machado would be much more valuable to the Phillies than Stanton.
Personally I’d much rather see the Phils trade from their deep system to get pitching instead of an OF, but either way I’d like to see them add SOMEONE high profile to entice some of next year’s FA class.
Overall Machado is the better player. Gold glove defense and has 40+ hr potential and can hit for average. Stanton is got more power than Machado but not nearly as good on the defensive side and injury prone
Agreed
Machado+prospects>Stanton. The Phillies can use the prospects saved by not trading for Stanton to go after some good pitching.
Stanton to the Phillies is probably more realistic than Harper or Machado. I think Harper is gonna come to the Cubs and Machado will be a Yankee or go to the White Sox IF they can even afford him by then
Harper will go where he can get paid.. Cubs have money to pay Harper sure.. But that would leave little else for a decent pitching staff. As we all know Cubs cannot develop pitching at all. Combine that with a depleted system there are few prospects to trade for pitching.
What do you call Arrieta and Hendricks?
Arrieta and Hendricks wasn’t drafted by the cubs
They both blossomed with Chi. And not before
How will the Cubs afford Harper? Yes, they have money—like a lot of big-market clubs do—but in a few years they will be paying Bryant, Russell, Contreras, Heyward (no way he opts out), and any number of their other cheap, young players. And they need pitching. If they add Harper to that mix they’ll be pushing $150M (and perhaps more) just for 6 or 7 guys, and that doesn’t include any pitching. The Cubs have great revenues, but along with everything—including team debt to finance the club—they would have trouble sustaining a $250M payroll.
Cubs network coming 2020
And? What does that mean? The Mets have their own network and yet they cannot afford a $250M payroll. Just because they are or may be creating their own network does not guaranteed endless revenues. Perhaps it won’t be successful? Perhaps cable companies will not choose to purchase the network for its subscribers.
For example, the Time Warner is having difficulty getting takers for its Dodgers channel, and if the Dodgers owned the network (and not just a piece) then it would impact their bottom line significantly. Since they are paid a guaranteed dollar amount PLUS revenue from the network, they are making a fortune. If it was reversed, they would be struggling.
And in any case, it’s doubtful any team is going to consistently maintain a payroll high enough to keep ALL of those players and sign Harper due to the impact of the luxury tax.
First of all, there is no way the Cubs go after Harper. And second you cant base any salary discussions off what the Mets do. Madoff screwed the Wilpons and the payroll geniuses that they have hired in the past have screwed them. Im pretty sure they are still paying Bobby Bonilla.
I don’t think the Cubs will go after Harper either, but that wasn’t the point, nor was how Madoff screwed the Mets/Wilpons or whatever. A commenter suggested that the Cubs potentially starting their own network in 2020 is a license to print money, which is it not guaranteed to. The Mets started SNY, and own a significant percentage of it, following the Yankees with the YES network. Because the Yankees were so successful with their own network—something they have sold controlling interest in for big, big money and fees (I think it increases 5% every year for the next 25 or so, something like that), fans seem to think that any team can create a network and then rake in billions of dollars. And it could, but that’s not always the case. I used the Mets as an example because their network has not ceased all their financial whoas. And I compared them to the Dodgers because LA did not start their own network, instead opting to sign with Time Warner for guaranteed money. Time Warner may struggle to generate revenue—something SNY is doing, and something the Cubs network may do—but Time Warner still has to pay the Dodgers.
All I was saying is that a team-owned network is not an automatic license to print money, and have a $250M+ payroll every year.
Ben, it’s very possible Harper is on the cubs in a little over a year. All they have to do is trade heywards not so good contract.. if they package schwarber with heyward, then they could easily get that done and probably get something decent in return like a young controllable pitcher. Doing so would free up around 25 mill a year.. Harper is likely to get 35 mill per year.. so in a way they’d only be spending 10 mill a year on him.. knowing Harper and Bryant are BFFs and their wives are even close friends just improves the odds of Harper wanting to come, not to mention Harper getting a hard on Everytime he comes to Chicago he’s posting on social media on how he loves Wrigley. So as of now, I think it’s impossible to say the cubs aren’t the favorites to sign him.
A lineup of Harper batting 2nd, followed by KB, Rizzo and Contreras would be absolutely insane, especially if they find a high OB leadoff bat!
Look at the LA Dodgers. That’s what it means
Was curious about your statement, “he’s played 130+ games in 3 of 7 years” so I thought I would take a look at Stanton’s playing time.
In his rookie season in 2010, Stanton played in 153 games. 53 for AA Jacksonville and 100 games for the Marlins.
In 2011 he played in 150 games for the Marlins.
In 2012 he played in 127 games. 4 for A+ Jupiter and 123 for the Marlins.
In 2013 he played in 121 games. 5 for Jupiter and 116 for the Marlins.
In 2014 he played in 145 games for the Marlins.
In 2015 he played in 75 games. 1 for Jupiter and 74 for the Marlins.
In 2016 he played in 119 games for the Marlins.
in 2017 he played in 156 games
140.9 games played per season on average. 4 of 7 seasons over 130 games. Two more seasons over 120.
As long as I was there looking at stats, how did he compare to other OF in the game over that same period.
Stanton is coming off his age 27 season.
His career slash line is .268/.360/.554/.914 with 267 HR in 986 games.
He has averaged over 38 HR per season.
He is coming off a 59 HR season.
He has averaged 4.8 WAR
Among OF since 2010 –
Only Trout (.976) has a better OPS than Stanton.
Only Nelson Cruz (268) and Jose Bautista (272) have more HR.
Only Trout (54.4) and McCutchen (41.1) have a better WAR.
Only Trout (.566) has a higher SLG% than Stanton’s .554
Only Trout (.412) has a higher wOBA than Stanton’s .385
Only Trout (169) has a higher wRC+ than Stanton’s 144
Stanton has the highest ISO by 24 points.
Stanton has the most IBB, HR/9 and RBI/9.
Bautista, Cruz, and McCutchen are at or near the end of their careers. Players peak by their age 30 season, so of the guys listed above Trout is the only OF that put up better numbers in most offensive categories and WAR Stanton. Trout is the consensus best player in baseball, so being 2nd to him is not so bad.
I think I would be pretty excited to see that player in RF regardless of what team I was a fan or GM/Manager of.
You’re right. ONLY TROUT. Then you take the elevator down five floors for the rest.
Geez you need a life
“can be better spent on Harper and Machado”
Read that carefully. I removed the error for you.
I agree. I do think they should sign both Harper and Machado, but I don’t know if it’s realistic. They have the resources, but it could be difficult to get both to put pen to paper.
Cafardo says Yelich will be traded? Then I put my money on Ozuna being traded. The only “writer” quoted on this site that is wrong more often than Cafardo is Heyman. Well, maybe Olney is worse, but they don’t quote him often.
What kind of package would it take to get either Yelich or Ozuna? I’m wondering if the Mariners could make something up to get one of them.
A lot, especially for Yelich presumably. Have to think any deal starts with Lewis and probably Neidert as well, and even that probably doesn’t pull Yelich. Neither really fits that Dyson-esque elite defender role that Dipoto seems to like, but I guess I could see a Lewis+ for Ozuna framework, given where the respective organizations seem to be trending
Problem is getting Stanton to wave the no-trade for Seattle, but the Marniers have what’s needed on their farm to get him .
No way…it is a bogus idea…The Phillies don’t need Yelich!!!!!!! They need pitching!!!!
The Phillies need a lot of hitting, but Yelich doesn’t hit as well as who they have now and Odubel Herrea is just all around better as a CF than Yelich.
Harper in RF, Odubel in CF. Works fine for me.
“Was curious about your statement, “he’s played 130+ games in 3 of 7 years” so I thought I would take a look at Stanton’s playing time.”
I could not care less about minor leagues and/or rehab assignments. His production and atbats in the minors does nothing to help a major league club, and would be a waste of millions of dollars if he’s constantly playing in rehab games. In Stanton’s 7 years…(I eliminated his rookie year because he wasn’t on the roster all year)…
2011…150 games
2012…123 games
2013…116 games
2014…145 games
2015…74 games
2016…119 games
2017…159 games
“His career slash line is .268/.360/.554/.914 with 267 HR in 986 games.”
So based on your numbers he plays 123 games per year.
“He has averaged over 38 HR per season.
He is coming off a 59 HR season.”
First off, don’t know where you get 38 HR per season. 267 home runs, 8 major league season…33.4 HR per season; eliminate his first year and it’s 35 HR per season. And those numbers are skewed by his 59 HR output this season (no matter how good he is, he’s not going to approach 60 every year). Prior to 2017 he averaged 29 HRs per season, or 31 not factoring in his rookie year.
“I think I would be pretty excited to see that player in RF regardless of what team I was a fan or GM/Manager of.”
I agree. I would be exciting to see a player of Stanton’s caliber in RF. However, it’s not that simple. It would take a lot of resources to acquire him (both trade assets and money), and would be for a player who doesn’t take the field as much as he should for his major league club.
Stanton is a terrific player, no one is doubting that. But he has a lengthy history of missing games, and as he gets older that is not likely something that will improve. He’s only 27, but he has a LOT of money owed to him, and those resources would be better served—by the Phillies at least—elsewhere. Like pitching.
“those resources would be better served—by the Phillies at least—elsewhere. Like Bryce Harper __and__ Manny Machado.””
Fixed that for you.
San Francisco would be a great spot for Jim Hickey to leave his mark.
I would think Hickey goes back with Maddon to the Cubs.
How about the Marlins trade Yelich and Gordon to the Cubs for Baez and Schwarber?
Or at least something around these 4 being the centerpieces.
The Cubs get their new leadoff hitter and #2 hitter for the next 4 years at a very good price. (around 10-13 mil a year each)
The Marlins get 2 guys who have more upside for the next 4 years at a much lower cost.
Marlins save a lot of money, Cubs get guys to compliment their team better. Need speed and situational hitting.
1) Gordon 2B
2) Yelich LF
3) Bryant 3B
4) Rizzo 1B
5) Contreras C
6) Russell SS
7) Heyward/Happ (I’d trade him)/ Zobrist RF
8) Almora CF
Interesting idea, but I don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense for the Marlins. Schwarber’s stock is kind of down I think, because he’s clearly out of position in the corner outfield and he looks more like a good hitter than a great one. I could see Miami having interest in Baez, but I would think they could pull a stronger secondary piece than Schwarber for a guy who’s probably their best trade piece
Funny seeing these losing teams thinking Harper may come play for them.. he’s going to go play with his BFF Kris Bryant. Their wives are even good friends. Harper gets a hard on Everytime he plays at Wrigley, he loves the place.. all the cubs need to do is trade heywards bad contract and package schwarber with him to get a team to eat it and they still probably will get something decent in return.
Harper
Bryant
Rizzo
It’s happening!!