The Athletics are beginning to amass an impressive young core, led by corner infielders Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that they’re seeking a controllable outfielder this winter as a means of adding to that core. Among the team’s targets, per Slusser, are Marlins stars Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.
Oakland picked up highly touted Dustin Fowler in the trade that sent Sonny Gray to the Yankees, and the team also has top shortstop prospect Franklin Barreto on the cusp of MLB readiness. Fowler will compete for the center field job next spring, and Barreto projects to be with the club by midseason. That young group is complemented by solid veterans like Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis.
Per Slusser, Oakland’s preference is to add a right-handed bat, though their interest in Yelich would suggest they’re not necessarily set on players of a certain handedness. Yelich’s contract, of course, plays a significant role in that interest as well. He’s owed $44.5MM through the 2021 season and also has a $15MM club option for the 2022 season. Ozuna, meanwhile, would certainly fit the criteria of a big right-handed corner outfield bat. However, he’s controllable only for another two years and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $10.9MM next season.
Yelich’s 2017 season wasn’t quite as impressive as his 2016 campaign, but he’s still posted an excellent .290/.373/.460 batting line over his past 1180 MLB plate appearances. That, paired with high-quality left-field defense and a capability to handle center field, has made him worth roughly nine wins above replacement since Opening Day 2016.
Ozuna, meanwhile, belted a career-best 37 homers in 2017 and slashed .312/.376/.548 along the way. Over his past two seasons, he’s slashed .290/.350/.503 with 60 homers. Questions about his glove in center field caused the Marlins to flip him with Yelich this season, and Ozuna responded with well-above-average defense in left field (+11 DRS, +3.4 UZR).
[Related: Oakland Athletics payroll outlook and depth chart]
Ozuna and Yelich are just two of many possibilities for the A’s to pursue this winter. The Cardinals have a noted glut of outfielders and are widely expected to shop Randal Grichuk and/or Stephen Piscotty. One would imagine that the White Sox would be open to dealing Avisail Garcia, though like Ozuna, he’s controlled only for another two seasons. Across town in Chicago, the Cubs have a glut of young position players, with switch-hitting Ian Happ an oft-rumored trade possibility. Speculating further, the Reds could be open to offers on Adam Duvall. Oakland doesn’t have any intention to trade from its big league roster, Slusser notes, with the possible exception of first baseman/DH Ryon Healy. (Trading Healy, she points out, would allow the A’s to move Khris Davis to DH.)
The A’s will have no shortage of options as they explore their corner needs this summer, and though payroll is always a concern in Oakland, their clean payroll slate makes it plausible for them to take on some dollars in 2018 and beyond. Oakland has just $18MM in guaranteed money on the 2018 books — $6MM to each of Lowrie, Santiago Casilla and Matt Joyce — plus another roughly $34MM in projected arbitration salary. Beyond the 2018 season, Oakland doesn’t have a single guaranteed dollar on the ledger, putting the A’s in position to take on a player already on a multi-year deal or one who is projected to begin earning substantial salaries via arbitration.
Oh this is a good idea. What would they be willing to give up though? Healy alone wouldn’t get it done and they aren’t trading barreto
They might trade Barreto now they have Mateo for SS, and Neuse and Shrock have shot up the 2B ranks recently.
im a yankees fan, mateo is not anything special., probably not a SS long term either. keep barreto
well i’ve only been reading and following mateo for years because he was a yankees prospect. he is nothing special as a hitter. his whole game is speed. he had a good run at AA for the first time this past season, but then struggled after the trade
How is a guy who’s been a good hitter for half a season the last 2 years anything more than a fringe top 100 guy? He has speed, and recently got moved off 2B because he wasnt good there, and that was after he got moved off SS. You seem kinda trollish.
who me? i said earlier he wasnt good defensively, what the hell?
I think Brixton was responding to Justin-turner on that one. If he meant you Walls17……his comment makes no sense. Had to be JTO
In addition, if you’ve been following him through the minors, you probably have a better handle on “who he is” than someone who simply “sees his stats”. I’ve spent over 10 years watching Spring Training games of the Marlins & Cardinals……both teams have a minor-league affiliate that plays here all summer…….. we get to see ALL the kids play. It DOES give you a leg-up with evaluations & assessments (seeing them live)
Spot on kbarr…Where you are from, and who you are a fan of, actually does matter quite a bit, when it comes to a person’s opinion on a prospect…
It’s one reason why alot of educated Braves fans already had Acuña on their prospect radar’s…Although, sometimes, it can also work against a fan, because they can get blinded by a bit of “homerism,” and they can overhype a prospect…
But, if I’m looking for some extra information about an A’s prospect…It would only make sense to ask an educated A’s fan..
Sure thing, a hitter at 17 is the exact same as he is at 22, no changes will ever happen, except like they kind of did last year. Right….
No I get it, he’s no longer a Yankee so now he’s trash. Pathetic take. Yankees fans “reviewing” their ex-prospects are the exact opposite of who I want to hear from on them. Mateo hit the A’s system on fire and continued to light it up. He’s sticking at SS and will probably hit MLB in late 2018.
bravesfan88 – prospects mature over time, so a Yankees fan saying Mateo sucked at 17-21 is a totally worthless opinion, because he broke out at 22. You get it?
You are trolling hard because Mateo did NOT get moved off SS.
After the trade, he played all 30 games at Midland at SS
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mat…
Mateo literally played 8 games at 2B in 2017.
Who’s the troll again?
Thanks 88
I am a Baseball Fan 1st…….Love The Game, and all it’s intriguing aspects.
I an extreme anomaly however. I live in So Florida, so I do love my Marlins. The Cardinals have been a Family Favorite since I can remember, probably because my Dad was a Fan. Those two teams share a Spring Training Facility here in Jupiter, Fl…..so I get plenty of exposure to both. I saw Dontrelle Willis pitch way before he was in the majors……many others too.
But I study other teams as well, and I enjoy “the business aspect” of it too. I appreciate ballplayers with talent & class. I look at the FO to decide where a team is headed. That’s where the Real Story is.
Acuna looks like he’s going to become someone very special in the Bigs. I think he’ll be up in mid-summer. Your thoughts on that? Will he be the next Kris Bryant? (held back for contractual reasons only) Or will he be more like Cody Bellinger? (brought up to fill in and hit so well they can’t send him back)
Bellinger had a cup-of-coffee in 2016……..Acuna did not get that chance in ’17. If they somehow trade Markakis or Kemp, and Acuna Rakes in ST….they’ll have a tough decision to make. I think they leave him in AAA until at least mid-June…..for whatever reason.
Thoughts?
Trading away outfielders to force a spot for Acuna is fine if the Braves don’t want to be competitive.
But if you trade, say, Markakis, and you find Acuna needs more time to adjust after his MLB debut, who do you start in his place that allows you to be a competitive team?
I’m a fan of letting the chips fall where they may. If Acuna forces his way in and hits, then you can either move an OF, or utilize the depth. You also don’t know if someone will get hurt, struggle, or whatever happens… just bring up Acuna when you need to and make the other decisions later.
Am I the only one who did a double take when I first seen the headline?
Ha! I had to look at it a couple times to make sure I wasn’t misreading it. If the A’s were to pull off such a trade, the AL West would have a bunch of young talent.
The as got the guys (prospects to trade) without taking away from their core
The marlins have no farm
This would be a win win
I would love for sd to pry one of their many mlb ready short stops off their hands
Our pitching core is really fragile though, and the Marlins are going to be targeting pitching if any trades for key guys goes down.
Armenteros, Puk , Montas and Cotton for Yelich. A’s get 5 years of control over Yelich which is what a team in their position needs the most
would they want to move their top pitching prospect in cotton though? they have no other pitching really outside of that, especially with puk thrown in too
because they want Yelich/Ozuna and the Marlins want pitching
Whoa, you need to get familiar with their farm. Cotton isn’t a prospect anymore he started 24 games last season in MLB.
Puk, Holmes, Kaprielian, Luzardo, Jefferies, Shore, Sawyer, Ruiz, Meisner etc etc – they are absolutely STACKED and you couldn’t be more wrong. Please do some research before posting lies like that.
none of those outside of Puk are elite talents though.
lol ok sure thing buddy…..
lol. Ruiz is terrible, Kaprielian is hurt, Holmes hasn’t been good in 2 years, and Jefferies is a 22 yr old in A ball who’s thrown 18 innings in his career
Holmes will be borderline and Kaprielian and Luzardo have very high ceilings.
Yeah, out of those I’d only say Luzardo, Kap, and Puk would be considered top tier prospects…Other then that, not so much JTO…
But they’d be giving up 19 years of control over 4 players in return…
hahaha man what an outlandish package – Puk is Kershaw Jr. and 0% chance of being traded.
Puk, Cotton and Armenteros are very unlkely to be traded right now.
No Puk, no deal for Yelich I think…
Then it’s unlikely we get Yelich. Beane didn’t draft and acquire those high ceiling players just to trade them away.
That’s not true at all. Holmes & Barreto for Yelich gets done.
I’d personally be cool with a package of Jorge Mateo, Jesus Luzardo, Logan Shore and Grant Holmes for Yelich however… don’t think Jeter and co will give him up for nothing short of what they want though. Which would definitely be Puk as the headliner.
And neither of those 2 are likely to be moved.
Where are you guys getting this “Puk as headliner or no deal” utter crap? You are pulling it out of thin air, it’s ridiculous. Stop it. A’s have like 6 high end SP prospects and Puk is the only untouchable, use one of the others. Kaprelian is on the A’s…
Probably not Holmes. The A’s game plan for the future is stellar infield defense and a starting rotation of sinker ballers, and Holmes has a hard sinker that will play.
Speaking of ridiculous, calling any prospect “Kershaw Jr.” is hugely absurd. Stop it.
No way bud. Yelich is locked in for 4 more years at roughly 42 million.. very affordable young player who is still getting better. The package will need to be headlined by Puk or Mateo for Miami to even seriously consider trading him, especially since Giancarlo is likely to be traded.
I can’t wait til it’s Mengden, Montas and Shrock for Yelich lol
Keep dreaming.
Nope, AJ Puk is a clone of Clayton Kershaw and there ain’t a damn thing you can do to make me stop saying it.
Puk’s stuff is comparable to Kershaw’s with less control. 14.5 SO/9 in High A, 12.1 SO/9 in Double A.
Right.
Puk is Kershaw Jr.
Barreto is Correa Jr.
Mateo is Billy Hamilton with better plate discipline
Montas will make the Dodgers wish they had traded Jansen instead
Kaprielian is the next Schilling
Holmes and Barreto for Yelich??? Your making dodger fans look bad. What next. Toles and Diaz for Trout
No chance A’s give up Puk
I’d be all for Mateo Cotton Montas and armenteros though
Mateo and Montas maybe, Cotton is necessary right now with our iffy upper minors pitching depth and hell no on Armenteros.
This obsession with Puk is strange. He posted solid numbers but nothing super crazy. Cotton and Montass have been mediocre in the bigs. If they want yelich someone who pitches and has really good value needs to be going back to miami. Luzardo was a headliner in a doolittle madson deal. Yelich is going to command far more than those 2
Puk surely not going any where!
3 HRA and 184 K’s is “nothing super crazy” ummmm, WRONG.
Did you even look at his numbers before posting this?
Puk was a consensus #1 pick before falling to #6 on draft day. Put some respect in his name.
Andrew Miller is a fair comp for Puk.
Puk’s control issues lead him toward the bullpen. Those control issues get worse more often than they improve.
You are actually saying Puk is the next Kershaw. Yes I know he is a solid prospect. But thats what it takes for Yelich. Not a package lead by Grant Holmes which you have now said multiple times
Yelich has an extremely high value. Probably top 5 among all OF’s in baseball. Thats what it will take to get him. 2 potential elite talents for 1 MLB guarantee.
A’s won’t trade Puk. He is their number 2 prospect. Maybe Cotten and Montas though.
Sorry to break this to you but any team that trades for Yelich will have to trade one of their top 2 prospects.
” any team that trades for Yelich will have to trade one of their top 2 prospects.””
Giants should call the Marlins then.
Chris Shaw and Christian Arroyo?
That’s a pretty decent start to a package for a good outfielder. It’d be beat by a lot of teams, but it’s not terrible by any means.
Any team thats realistic with their farm system. Giants obviously dont have the prospects to get a deal done
Kinda torn on Cotton with our upper minors depth.
ahhahahahaha NO! horrible deal, especially if its just for one of them.
Jorge Mateo, Jesus Luzardo, Logan Shore and Grant Holmes for Yelich
Way, way, way too much. Shore and Holmes plus someone like Mengden for Yelich gets done.
Any trade of Yelich will require a headliner such as Puk or Mateo… keep in mind Yelich’s contract… tbh, your package is much more suitable for Ozuna.
stretch123, you are 100% wrong. Please stop posting.
Seems like my personal opinion on trade value got to you a bit. My bad.
I’ll be the bigger person here… I’ll respect your opinion… but, I’ll stick to mine and will post as I please… anyways, have a good night sir.
He’s a troll. I engaged at first, only to realize I was feeding him.
It’s childish trolls like him who make the experience worse on this site and these discussion boards worse.
Opinions are cool, but facts are cooler. I know the Marlins are looking for pitching depth, but the A’s are also interested in pitching depth. Giving up 3 starting pitching prospects for one outfielder isn’t likely to happen.
We can look elsewhere for a right handed hitting outfielder, or give someone from the farm a shot.
I think the marlins would be happy with quality/ quality
Anything the As would be willing to give out is a 100% increase in improvement on the marlins farm
Facts ARE cooler:
AJ Puk, 2017:
125 IP
3 HRA
48 BB
184 K
You mean you talked down to me and acted like your opinion was fact and I told you to get lost.
Or you could display a modicum of maturity and act like an adult.
This was a civil discussion until you showed up. No one cares what you think if you’re going to act like a child.
not really. I think his package is light
You have no idea about player trade value either though.
5 incredibly cheap years of a 4 WAR player is going to cost a little bit more than Mateo, a 3rd rounder who’s barely pitched and a couple of B level SP prospects.
That package could get topped by other teams
You definitely don’t
You’re one of those ppl that think throwing gobs of money can solve everything
Incredibly cheap? I mean … how about 4 years of a 3 WAR player getting paid $600k until arbitration in 2018? THAT’S what seems incredibly cheap to me as an A’s fan, not $10-15M / year. That might be incredibly cheap for other teams, but not Oakland.
By the way, that 3 WAR player is also a SS with 30 HR power. Everyone has been sleeping on Semien, but his defense has improved, and the dude can rake.
You are beyond crazy, and do not understand Yelich value. Marlins will be looking for an adam eaton return or will hang onto him. You don’t trade young affordable players like Yelich for shore and Holmes. Get a clue and take your homer glasses off.
Thank you, I think at this point, he has to know and realize he is just plain wrong…I believe he just wants to keep trolling to irritate people…
People thinking they are going to get Yelich or Ozuna for a couple of back-end rotation prospects and a second-tier infield prospect…Well, they CLEARLY are just delirious and flat out mistaken..
Jeter and Company are not going to make their first trades without either clearly getting fair value or winning those trades….
Kaprielian is absolutely not a back end SP guy, please stop with this and please start respecting the A’s farm system.
Kaprielian had TJS. He is not headlining a major trade at the moment. You need to realize how valuable 5 cheap years of a 4+ win player is. Your gonna have to give up some good guys. Sorry but holmes and shore wont cut it
Shore , Holmes and menegden for Yelich. What planet are you living on? I think all 29 other teams would be making an offer if it was that cheap
If marlins were to ask for prospects probably the first on the list would be Sheldon Neuse. He was a standout in AFL this year. and plays good D unfortunately stuck behind future gold glove winner Chapman. You would need to add in 1 of the A’s top 10 pitching prospects too. Now add in Healy as who would be their stop gap at 3B because they would trade Prado away. Now add Cotton and another piece Montas. In all together that would be 5 players going to Marlins.
The A’s don’t let log jams hold them back. If a guy is athletic and has a good bat we’ll try and find a place for him. Look at what we’ve done with guys like Nunez and Munoz. Nunez is also a natural third baseman playing left, and Munoz is a natural shortstop with the second strongest arm in the organization playing center.
i think ozuna is more realistic and would cost the a’s less
Seems like off season click bait, A’s aren’t near ready to contend despite Davis, Healy and Barreto.
I think this is to see what the Marlins would be willing to take to give up either of those two. I doubt anything gets done that would move Ozuna or Yelich to the A’s, especially if it requires to give up any of Puk, Luzardo, Kaprielian, Holmes, Barreto or Mateo.
Puk should be off limits
The 4 pitching prospects I mentioned should be off limits. Puk, Luzardo and Kaprielian are all very high ceiling prospects, and Holmes is a sinker baller, and we love our sinker ball pitchers.
Every team is interested in these two players.
I wonder if the A’s would be willing to take on Piscotty’s contract if the Cardinals take on Joyce’s & Casilla’s (maybe a middling prospect as well) contracts?
I’m a Piscotty fan but as someone who lost a parent not long ago, he needs to be close to home for that I have no doubt his performance this season was partially due to the stress of his personal situation and I think the only way he’ll get back to form in the present time is too be as close to Pleasanton as possible and Oakland would fit that bill…
Joyce, Healy and maybe Nunez for Piscotty? If you guys really want Casilla too that would be great for us.
Way too much to give up Healy can’t play with the cardinals there is no spot for him.
Why did the Jeter group buy the Marlins only to jettison the team? Do they plan on moving it?
they want to rebuild and cut costs because they are a meh team and have no money/prospects left to try to compete. they want a fresh start
I think I’ve read that one of the requirements of buying a team in debt is typically that you have three years to achieve a balanced yearly budget.
They also will still owe $400M in old debt, according to the terms of purchase.
I don’t actually know what would happen if they weren’t able to hit a scheduled target … maybe stripped of team and it gets auctioned off? Anyone?
It’s more-so the debt to rev ratio in which the incoming management has 5 years to right the ship.
I think the Cardinals would trade Grichuk or Piscotty to the A’s, maybe for Healy?
With how fiscally prudent the A’s are, I can’t see how they wouldn’t insist on the Cards taking on the contracts of the limited players they (Oak) that make decent coin like Joyce, Casilla, Semien, etc.
Now if Mozaliak wouldn’t have signed Piscotty to a multi year deal that he didn’t have to, well……
I don’t think we trade Semien until Barreto is 100% ready to take over at short. Joyce is a maybe with our current outfield depth, and if you really want to endure Casilla’s wild ride be my guest. I don’t think we’re desperate to move either of those three.
Healy would definitely get traded in a deal for Piscotty, though, to open up DH for Khris Davis.
Though I agree with your sentiments, I was just listing the limited players besides Davis & Lowrie that make some money & I know Khrush & Jed ain’t going nowhere!
I don’t think anyway…
The A’s love Davis and Lowrie right now. We won’t have much of a veteran presence on the team next season, and Davis and Lowrie are both positive presences in the clubhouse and on the field.
Joyce, Casilla and Healy are open field, though.
Semien’s in for his first round through arbitration, I believe. Shouldn’t be too pricy, $3.2M is the estimate.
Semien had a good offensive year with very shaky defense in 2016 and missed half of last season after he required surgery to repair a broken wrist, so he should be relatively inexpensive in his first arbitration.
Semien should be the one traded, his defense is just garbage and his hitting isnt all that great.
No, his bad defense was in 2015. He improved dramatically in 2016 after getting some work in with Ron Washington.
Since Ron Washington left, his defense is once again bad. Plus the A’s have some quality SS prospects (like Barretto and Meteo) coming up. Semien should be dangled at least
That’s really not fair to Marcus Semien, though. He started the season with a broken wrist in on his dominant arm, and he wasn’t going to be 100% once he returned.
I like the idea, but I dont think the A’s need both of them, Maybe just Yelich since the A’s are lacking left handed bats.
Olson, Powell, Joyce, Brugman, Fowler, Maxwell (we’ll see what happens there).
Not exactly lacking in lefties.
Ozuna looks much more attractive than Yelich sliding into LF.
Powell CF
Lowrie 2B
Olson 1B
Ozuna LF
Davis DH
Joyce RF
Chapman 3B
Phegley / Maxwell C
Semien SS
As an A’s fan, I am totally okay with trotting that out on Opening Day. That’s a lineup that will score some runs. Also, with a trip to Denver this year, I am looking forward to seeing them for a whole series.
Brugman lol – that guy isn’t a big leaguer.
Brugman isnt ready to be an everyday player. Same can be said for Powell (although he can if he stays healthy). Joyce and Olson’s hitting arent consistent but those two do have great power bats. Personally for Maxwell, I dont expect to see him play next year, plus his hitting wasnt all that great after the allstar break. So like I said, the A’s are lacking left handed bats (lefties in the bullpen as well). Although that projected opening day lineup looks good, it can be better.
Brugman has the eye to be an everyday player, but he needs to tweak his swing. Powell also has the eye, but not a lot of power.
Ramirez and Schrock are both left handed hitters, and are on the fast track right now, despite Ramirez’s injury that took him out of the AFL.
Healy to Pittsburgh maybe? And maybe they work Cutch in the trade ?
Whoa that’s interesting. They have Josh Bell though? Healy at 3B isn’t very good.
Wasn’t very sure how Healy was defensively don’t follow him to closely, I️ remember seeing some highlights of him at third so he didn’t seem to be a train wreck, I️ was thinking Healy and maybe a pitching prospect for Cutch, Neverauskas and some other prospects in the top 30 range from pitt, idk
If I remember correctly people were bashing me when I said Barreto would be good.