In the latest dose of Marlins-related drama, agent Joe Longo of Paragon Sports International, who represents Christian Yelich, tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that a trade of his client in the next month would be in the best interest of both team and player.
Longo states that he respects the Marlins’ long-term plan for a return to contention, but states that the “…plan shouldn’t include Christian at this point in his career.” Yelich’s relationship with the Marlins has been “irretrievably broken” and has “soured,” according to Longo, who goes on to speak about the disappointment that Yelich has felt in watching the Marlins’ new ownership group gut the roster in trades that have sent Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna elsewhere.
“The new ownership regime needs to get new parts into this plan and move forward, and [Yelich] needs to get on with his career where he’s got a chance to win,” Longo tells Crasnick. The agent goes on to explain that Yelich signed his seven-year, $49.57MM contract extension with the Marlins in a “completely different climate” — that is, one where the organization looked to be making a clear push to win in the short term. Yelich’s deal (which Longo and Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill discussed at length with MLBTR’s Zach Links back in 2015) was agreed upon in the same offseason that saw the Fish sign Stanton to a record-setting $325MM contract. New ownership, however, clearly has no intent of pushing for a division title in 2017 as payroll has been slashed by roughly $50MM.
Longo’s comments, of course, don’t ensure that a trade of Yelich will transpire before or during Spring Training. Such decisions are up to president of baseball operations Michael Hill and his staff, who needn’t feel pressure to move Yelich in the same manner as they did with regard to Stanton, Gordon and Ozuna. The Marlins’ payroll projection is inching closer to its reported target of roughly $90MM, and Yelich’s $7MM salary for the coming season isn’t especially burdensome. Moreover, the fact that Yelich can be controlled for another five years at a total of $58.25MM is a clear indicator that he’ll be an asset with considerable surplus value at virtually any point the Marlins decide to make him available.
Yelich is hardly the only player that is less than enthused about the notion of suiting up for a Miami club that looks destined for the NL East cellar. Catcher J.T. Realmuto’s agents have reportedly informed the Marlins that their client would prefer to be traded, and infielder Starlin Castro (acquired as a financial component in the trade that sent Stanton to the Yankees) is reportedly hoping to be dealt elsewhere before so much as playing a single game for the Marlins.
Per Crasnick, the Blue Jays, Braves, Dodgers, Angels, Padres, D-backs and Phillies are “among” the teams that have reached out to the Marlins to gauge the asking price for Yelich in a trade, though there are assuredly more team that have expressed interest. Toronto GM Ross Atkins recently suggested that virtually every team in the league would have interest in a Yelich trade, and reports have suggested that more than 15 teams have at least kicked the tires on the former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner.
Yelich, just 26 years of age, is a career .290/.369/.432 hitter. He’s averaged 20 homers and a dozen steals over the past two seasons and has proven to be a capable center fielder or an elite defender in left field. Crasnick notes that Yelich himself may speak publicly in the coming days, and the column is stuffed with additional quotes from Longo. It’s well worth a full read-through, both for those that have been diligently tracking the Marlins’ offseason roller coaster and those who haven’t been monitoring the situation as closely.
Baez, Caratini, Almora and their choice of two minor league pitchers. It can’t hurt to offer.
As much as I think that would work, they likely would get more. Also I would rather keep Baez and trade Addy if Gun is pointed to head. Same scenario as a trade for Archer. Cubs could make a fair trade, but why would TB and MIA trade them now when they could get more in summer. Cubs gave up massive prospects in season for short-term players like Wilson and Chapman. And tons of top prospects for Quintana.
I really wish the cowards that down vote comments like this were required to post a rebuttal. I mean does this trade get it done? Maybe not but it isnt unreasonable. A middle infield of Baez and Castro is actually respectable. Both Baez and Almora give the Marlins plus defense. Caratini kind of makes no sense because of.now they are set at catcher.
Cowards? You need some perspective dude.
They are disagreeing, not claiming it’s the dumbest idea ever.
Where are these down votes you speak of? I don’t see them, and I’m using the app.
They don’t appear in the app
Haha. Cowards? Man the hyperbole is thick here.
Ah-haaaaa!
Happ and almora are the starting point.
I don’t think he will be traded, despite agents efforts.
Has a player ever “refused to play”….???
Or will he just chase personal stats and ignore what the team wants?
I can’t blame any Marlin player for wanting to escape Junkman Jeter and his pathetic partners.
Flood is the only one who comes to mind but he was traded and didn’t want to be.. refused to show up but those are different times and different circumstances. These kids are just entitled brats who have always gotten their way. It’s a sport but it’s a business..
no one forced yellich to sign his seven year deal two years ago. What kind of agent let’s a player like yellich sign a seven year deal forgoing arb and fa years and doesn’t get opt outs or anything to benefit the player other than his big pay day early? Does it suck for yellich absolutely but this is getting ridiculous. At what point do number one picks start saying no this team is bad I’m not signing. I don’t care about the slot money this team sucks! It’s not like the 6 years of control thing is new here.. will is be changed? Probably.. something like 4 years of control with 3 of those being arb eligible seems like a staying point
I think that would be breach of contract to flat out refuse to play but I don’t really know how that works so…
if you don’t lie you forfeit your salary so I doubt it
He may have to “retire” in order to not breach his contract.
Kinda hard to walk away from $50+MM as a 26 year old.
Draft picks say no all the time and re-enter the draft the next year. JD Drew refused to play for philly. Declined the offer entered the draft the following year. Cardinals I do believe drafted him. First time he played in philly the fans threw batteries at him.
Yep there have been players who refused to play n hold out. It’s rare but has happened. They don’t get paid. Usually they end up coming back a few weeks to a month later. Then get traded
Aka…JD Drew, remember Phillies fans
@password
What kind of front office gives those opt-outs when they are guaranteeing $60,000,000 dollars to unproven players? Frankly, opt-outs are THE dumbest thing front offices agree to.
And if a player chosen #1 overall declines to sign, hopefully he hasn’t exhausted his college eligibility because playing in the independent league isn’t going to get him drafted #1 the following year (and what if he is just terrible or gets injured!!??).
That happened in the draft all the time. JD Drew was a major example. Guys in the first round used to not sign all the time, but that has changed a lot with the slotting system and guys pretty much knowing how much they will make. It still happens, but much more rarely than in the past.
Plus I think marlins are looking for prospects not ML ready players.
lol just no.
Brother Nero and a Vessel to be named later!
Would love him in SD but not sure of the prospects it would take…
No
We will need to trade Hunter Renfroe
Would love to see Christian come home to SoCal and be in the Dodgers outfield!
Trade pederson!
You have the prospects.
Start with Verdugo
Add in Yusinel Diaz
Round out the package with santana and sheffeld.
Im ok with a Verdugo, Diaz, Santana & Sheffield package but I;m sure the Marlins would want something closer to what Nationals gave up for Adam Eaton. (#1, #3, #6 prospects)
Marlins want pitching prospects back so package would most likely have to include Verdugo, Alvarez & White (#2, #3 & #7 prospects), which would be a haul. I hope we don’t give up Yadier Alvarez & Mitchell White together but thats probably what it would take. No way we give up Walker Buehler.
Our pitching depth would def take a hit considering we might not re=sign Darvish & the 2019 FA class isnt big on pitching. There might be Price (no way he opts out), Kershaw (opt out but not going anywhere), Pomeranz, Gio Gonzalez, Patrick Corbin, Matt Harvey?
Dodgers rotation for 2019 Kershaw (opt out), Hill (last yr), Wood, Maeda, Buehler & Urias? Something to think about with Yelich, so we probably don’t include Mitchell White in the deal, possibly, Verdugo, Alvarez, Sheffield & lower level prospect (#2, #3 & #10)? But will Marlins accept that? Probably not with plenty of better farm systems in the mix for Yelich.
Its problematic comparing the eaton deal since he netted giolito who was a top 10-30 talent, reynaldo lopez was in the 30s, and dane dunning wasnt ranked. Using BA 2017 start list mostly. The white soxs had a pretty decent farm.
But, while verdugo would be the headliner I definitely think a farm system like the marlins benefits from taking better secondary pieces going for a quantity instead of quality.
In all honesty which would marlins rather have verdugo alvarez white or verdugo diaz santana sheffeld maybe lux or may to beef up the offer.
The farms pretty bad.
I agree with you on quantity and taking more secondary pieces, their farm needs it.
The Verdugo, Alvarez, White package is probably pretty damn close. Add one lower level prospect with a high ceiling and you have your trade. Dont see it happening though.
If you’re going to do a comparison to the Eaton deal, the White Sox netted Giolito, Lopez, & Dunning. Per MLB.com, Giolito was the #3 overall prospect, Lopez was #38, & Dunning was unranked, but was the #29 overall pick in that yr’s draft.
A comparable package from the Dodgers would be Walker Buehler (#11), Yadier Alvarez (#42), & Jeren Kendall (LA’s 1st rd pick from last yr.) Not saying that I’d do the deal, but if you’re comparing prospect rankings, this would be the package.
I see your point, but I am not comfortable with moving Walker Buehler. Not only is he the Dodgers top prospect but he is also right handed and one of the games best young pitching prospects.
Also, for the reasons listed above on the Dodgers future rotation after 2018′, wouldn’t make sense and won’t happen.
maybe the best interest of the player but probably not the team lol
meet the new boss
same as the old boss
– the who
Agent sticking up for player.
Joe Longo of Paragon sports, has backbone.
Not likely to change Marlins’ minds howev^
They will do what’s best for them.
All of you saying he’s being a cry baby, getting paid millions in a contract he signed, can’t see whole picture.
Marlins are going to waste this kid’s prime years, rebuilding. Not even the remaining five years 58.25M makes it ok to swallow.
The kid’s agent is trying to do everything in his power to force the Marlins’ hand. Problem is, life’s not always fair, and that’s not how it works when you gave yourself financial security to you/and your family, signing that seven-year $49.57 million contract — $44.5 million guaranteed through 2021.
In his defense, he signed it a mere four months after Stanton’s contract was signed. He was played, lol.
He is playing in the major leagues and making millions so nothing is being wasted.
The person that is breaking the relationship is the agent.
STFU and play ball.
The kids agent let him sign a 7 year deal buying out arb and fa years with kne year of service time.. the agent and the player took the guaranteed money in case of injury or regression.. it’s OK for the player to take the money now in case he gets hurt or fails to perform and doesn’t reach earning potential in arbitration but somehow the new marlins ownership is the devil because they want to do it their way now?
He played himself.
This has literally been the Marlins’ MO since the franchise came into existence, and with rumors swirling that Loria was looking to sell he knew exactly what he was getting into.
He wanted the money, which is fine, but now he also doesn’t want the consequences that went along with the money and that’s not. You don’t get to simultaneously sign a contract and take a team’s money and then complain that they control your rights for the duration of that contract.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I don’t really feel bad for the agent or Yelich. They agreed to an extension with the team. He’s making a lot of money to play for them, and the team didn’t have to invest in him. Just play the game and with the way the Marlins are selling right now it’s pretty likely he’s going to get traded anyways, no need to make a spectacle out of it.
I agree. I think what I find the most galling is the “completely different climate” statement. If Loria never sold the Marlins then they would have likely had a firesale anyway, it’s what Loria constantly did especially when you consider Stanton’s first big raise starts this year.
Loria kept mediocre teams on the field and traded away talent when it got expensive. Jeter’s group at least is owed the benefit of the doubt that they want to try to rebuild from the ground up. Yelich should quit whining.
As a Royals fan, I still laugh that Greinke never has won a ring. The Royals waited on him patiently while he went through his personal crisis and left the game for a year or whatever, he had one amazing year where he won the Cy Young, and demanded to be traded after he pitched to a 4.5 era the following year. He refused to throw a slider while pitching for the Royals because he didn’t want to throw his arm out pitching for them. Screw that guy. I think of this just about every time I see a young player demand to be traded by his original team.
I mean it worked for both parties… they got the pieces back that helped them win the WS, and he got paid.
Such cry babies, I dare someone to pay me $7mil to be unhappy .. lol
Is it not a good thing that he wants to win and instead isn’t just going through the motions?
All players want to win. That is why they play. Not all teams win, and you can’t always want to be traded when you don’t win. You signed a contract – suck it up. I wouldn’t want that type of negativity on my team.
No kiddin.. why is this offseason seem more like a marlins breakup?
I love when players complain about a contract for a team THEY SIGNED. I understand the “climate has changed”, but that’s the risk taken. Very little sympathy for Yelich here.
But how has the climate changed? This has been exactly how the Marlins have operated for decades. It should be NO surprise to anyone that this is happening, least of all someone who has actually been part of the organization for years.
If Fernandez lived and if the marlins stocked up on pitching they actually could have been a legit threat to the nats. Sadly Fernandez death and Loria was the beginning of the marlins downward spiral
Loria owning the Fish was the beginning
Yelich to the Padres! Preller do your magic
I hope not. They’re going to ask for the best prospects.
Why would Preller do that? Yelich is just gonna get injured and then the Marlins will go crying to MLB about OUR medicals.
That makes no sense.
Tatis morejon and Baez would be nice return for Yelich.
Which is why yelich will never be a padre.
Padres can offer to take on remaining salary to chen tazawa and or ziegler along with yelich. But padres would only be interested if they can bring the price down for yelich, which the marlins supposedly dont want.
If they could haggle it down to espinoza, morejon, and 1 of allen or nix then i could stomach that trade.
But gore, quantril, baez, lucchesi, lauer id want to keep along with tatis jr and urias
At this point, I don’t think any player worth mentioning wants to be a part of the Marlins…
I would offer any amount of prospects not named Vlad Jr or Bichette if I were the jays GM
Green. Reid-foley Alford biggio and our entire AA squad.
Add a few million to the payroll. (Cheap Rogers) Get up to the luxury tax . Add darvish or arrieta or Cobb. Sign cain for rf
We could actually compete thus year
Barring that. We won’t even be able to beat the O’s
At least one of clad and bichette have to be in a deal for yelich. And I disagree with the jays not being able to heat the o’s. The o’s have -0 pitching
I wouldn’t do that deal then.
Both are projected to be better then their fathers.
Not saying much for bichette. But the kid looks to be a top flight player.
If Vlad JR does what his dad did. Then he’s a keeper as well
Honestly I’d have rather seen the jays go full rebuild this year and try for 2020 and beyond.
Yanks and sox (with martinez) will be tough games this year and next
I don’t think anyone is projecting Vlad Jr. to be better than his dad. I mean his dad is arguably a top 50-100 player of all-time.
I was pissed when Vlad came up just short, getting 71.7 percent of the necessary 75 percent needed for induction, his first year of eligibility.
I thought he would be a shoo-in, his first year.
Yup. I hated Vlad Sr. when he played the Phillies – he was one of the all-time Phillies killers.
If he’s not a HOF player he’s so close they’ll smell him forever because of the proximity.
yeah, but baseball writers that vote for the HOF are generally idiots…Vlad was one of the best hitters ever. don’t know why the HOF still let’s writers vote (no offense to any of the awesome contributors on this great site).
Many better ballplayers before his time never played on winning balclubs, but played for the love of the game.
You can’t knock a guy for not wanting to stay in a place where winning is not a priority. And wont be for years.
You have absolutely no idea if winning is not a priority. All we know for sure is that Loria increased payroll to an unsustainable level knowing that he would be selling. With no pitching, the new ownership group had no choice but to lower payroll. They weren’t going to win the NL East even if they kept everyone and added Arrieta, Darvish, and Davis which would have meant having MLB payroll higher than their revenue.
Yes we do know it’s not a priority.
They are trading any and all talent not named Yelich
I certainly don’t want to attack you. But it’s very obvious saving money is the sole priority of the new ownership group.
You can’t win in MLB fielding AAA players on the cheap
If winning was priority. They would have kept their core intact. And not dumped Stanton salary.
Saving money this year and next year then payroll goes up.. do know what you’re speaking of before speaking please. Even with Fernandez and not selling the team this team probably had a two year window to make some noise the Loria would have dine his thing
No chance jays get him without giving up one of those two and if I’m them you do it. Yelich is a proven mlb player and just because those guys are projected to be good doesn’t mean it always pans out.
They had to let Stanton go. That contract was obscene for any ballplayer. Even the Yankees are foolish for taking on that contract. The first few years will be great, but anything after age 32 will be a mistake.
How about the great Ernie Banks? Played all those years in Chicago and never played a postseaon game. Never heard him complain and maybe no one ever loved playing the game more than he did… “Let’s play two!!”
Just reported that the Giants have traded for Yelich! (I wish)
The Taxpayers relationship with the Marlins is broken, there should be Mutiny in Miami and the Taxpayers should get back their money!!!
Loria, Jeter, and the rest of the new Ownership should pay those bonds!!!!
What a Clown Show in Miami!!!
Just remember, the revolution will not be televised.
It’s probably just as well
The guy signed a seven year deal. Seven years is a long time and many things can change in that time. If he wants to complain now that’s pretty pathetic
I would love for the jays to get him.
But at what cost?
Atkins won’t give up a lot for him. Especially if they end up eating his contract. That said, if the jays could give up a couple low hanging prospects and agree to eat most of his salary, he would be a Donaldson-caliber addition to a team that is clearly missing the likes of the 2015 Double-E/JoeyBats combo that are now pariahs!
Many teams would beat that offer, and he is on a team friendly deal so the contract just adds to his value.
Lmaoooo are you crazy!!! “Eat his salary” every team in the league would WANT to eat that 7 mil salary. That’s less than some lower tier relievers are getting!! His contract has to be one of the biggest steals in the game
Eat most of his salary for a couple low level prospects for a Donaldson-esque acquisition as you mentioned? What are you smoking? Lol
Eat his salary? It’s one of the most team friendly deals in the league!
How about Hicks, Frazier, and Adams for Yelich? Solves the Yankees logjam and pave the way for Florial in a year.
Not even close. If that’s all it would take, New York would’ve probably targeted Yelich at the same time or even ahead of Stanton.
That’s not a bad idea!
Better then the chuckler above saying the jays should offer a couple low end prospects and to eat his “most” of his salary
Remove Frazier and Hicks for Florial and Abreu in addition to Adams to the Fish
It actually doesn’t solve the logjam because they still have Gardner and Ellsbury in the outfield as well
Sure it does. Stanton Gardner and Judge are the starters with Els as the 4th. You alternate the DH between the 4. That way, yankees can sign Todd to cover third so only rookie Torres can start second.
Braves need to pull the effing trigger on this one. Armchair GM time: here my offer: Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, Travis Demeritte, and u can have Seymour back. I know they want pitching and near mlb ready isn’t quite as important to them. Their system is really weak and I think this is a strong first offer :/
The Marlins need OF. Not pitching. They took care of those needs in the last 3 trades.
At this point their only OF with more than a cup of coffee in the majors is Yelich.
Demeritte can play outfield and Seymour is an outfielder, both a solidly ranked in the braves system. I mean, if we want to take out muller and throw in pache, that’s fine even though my gut says braves need to hold on to pache cause I think he’s gonna be big one day.
Demeritte is a 2B. Seymour is not even a good prospect.
Here is the question you need to ask before you begin adding to a list of who the Marlins would accept. Are they elite prospects? If so, are they OF? If so, are they MLB ready? If not at least one of them, take them off the list. At least the top of the list.
The Marlins will literally have no OF on their roster that have more than just a few games of MLB experience if they trade Yelich.
Do you want to know what it would take to get Yelich. Think the Eaton trade. For the Braves that means start with Acuna. Then add 2-3 other good prospects.
A Braves trade wouldn’t start with Acuna. The Eaton trade was two 55 FV and a 50 FV prospect. Acuna is a 60 or maybe even possibly a 65 FV prospect. A Braves deal would be more like 2 of their top 5 SP prospects and Pache.
I would start with 2 of Newcomb, Gohara, Anderson, Fried, Wright, Soroka, or Allard.
I don’t think I would include 2 of those pitchers. If I had to pick, it would be Fried and Anderson. Maybe gohara instead of one of those. But if I did 2 of these, then 1 of the hitters has to come off the board if not both. Again, armchair gm moment. Not like the original hitters offered were super great
if you want to have a chance of getting him you have to offer the Marlins their pick of 2 from that group he’s got to be as good as gioleto and Lopez were in the Adam Eaton deal
The Marlins need OF and to get Yelich it will have to be an elite prospect so start with the best OF prospect. That would be Acuna.
Yeah no. Dealing Acuna would negate the benefit of obtaining Yelich in the first place. If the Marlins demand Acuna it means they don’t want to deal with the Braves, which would be incredibly short sighted on their part.. Braves have a bunch of pitching prospects that would immediately become the Marlin’s #1 pitching prospect. Also why in the world would you trade for OF major league ready players when your team is just starting a rebuild? You want to lose them to FA by the time you are ready to contend?
The problem the Marlins have in their demands right now is that the teams with the best farms either aren’t contending this year or are already set in the outfield. None of them desperately need Yelich enough to meet an outrageous asking price.
Yeah… I gotta figure Acuna and Guerrero are both non-starters in any negotiation as they are currently regarded as 2 of the very best prospects in baseball. Can’t see either team giving them up for Yellich, who, while very good, is not Chris Sale.
need way way way more than that add albies to that deal or maybe Allard and wright
Not bad but Marlins would want the most from the Braves if they decide to deal within the division. No way that offer get it done.
I think my offer is a good starting point, maybe remove the weakest and add pache, that’s a pretty legit offer. If so, no one is mlb ready, but to be fair he braves prob aren’t trading mlb ready players yet. They aren’t far from mlb ready to be fair. To the few of u saying it would only happen if we including Ronald, y’all are out of ur minds. The braves have enough elite prospects to get it done without him. Ian Anderson is elite and sure, maybe I should add one more, but that’s a stout first offer for sure.
Sorry man. I think the deal will have to at least be Gohara, Newcomb, Pache plus another legit pitcher from the top 10 and another 1-2 other players in the 15-30 range. If the Braves want him and refuse to include Allard or Acuna the price goes up. They could just do Allard, Gohara and Pache and that would get it done but it seems most Braves fans would have a stroke if that were the cost.
Yelich and Castro to the Jays for Bo Bichette, Devon Travis, Teoscar Hernandez, Sean Reid Foley and TJ Zeuch. Who hangs up first?
That’s actually not a bad trade for either side, although MIA might want someone swapped in for Travis. I’m always rooting for the kid, but he has been injured so much in his career that it might scare other teams away from his potential. Taking Castro’s contract helps too.
If we had to give up one of Vlad or bichette. I’d rather give Vlad.
Really? Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone express that they thought Bichette would be better than Guerrero. Not saying it’s impossible, just a surprising opinion.
I’d definitely rather trade Bichette. But if he were included, I wouldn’t want to give up much else. I know it’s not good to fall in love with prospects, but Bichette/Guerrero is probably the best chance we’ve had to grow our own superstars in a decade if not longer
I watched a little bit of the two in AA. Everything I saw pointed to bichette being the better player
I don’t have #scoutseyes tho.
Just my humble opinion.
I already got 2 down votes for saying I wouldn’t trade either and would have preferred a full rebuild.
So obviously I know nothing lol
well Bo is a year older… which doesn’t sound like much but it is a big deal when we are talking about teenagers… some “experts” have vladdy as the #1 prospect in baseball…so he’s got more value at present…bo could very well be the better player time will tell. its exciting to see the Jays have 2 prospects this highly regarded at the same time.
switch Zeuch for Borucki or Maese or anyone else not named Pearson and you got a deal.
Are you going to throw in Realmuto too? Russel Martin is almost done.
.01% problems.
This is the risk you take when you sign extensions. At any moment the team can go south and be forced into a rebuild. No one forced him to sign the extension
I hope the Marlins feel compelled to trade him and they have no leverage due to the fact every team knows he doesn’t want to play for them. Sherman and Jeter have turned this organization into an even bigger circus than Loria ran
Oh, boohoo! Suck it up you rich snob. I think it’s completely rediculous that anyone disagrees with the direction Jeter and Co are going. It’s the only rational direction. It’s not like they’ve broken up a good team. Yes, they broke up a great offense, but they had near, if not the worst pitching in baseball. There was no way they could fix their pitching woes through free agency. They were going nowhere. At least now they have a direction. Kudos to Jeter.
Wait so selling off all your assets for light packages is a good direction?
They’re selling to the highest bidder for each asset, it’s not like they’re going out looking for bad return. Hopefully, for the sake of Marlins fans, they will finish last place in the league or close to it for a few years in a row so they can select at the top of the draft and choose wisely. That’s the shortest path to a competitive team especially for a small market.
They purchased a team in insane debt and got someone to take all but 30$ mil of Stanton’s contract. Not really a low package.
I don’t disagree that selling off was the right move it’s just that they’ve done a terrible job doing it prioritizing getting rid of payroll instead of adding Elite Talent
While I understand the frustration of the players in these situations, I can’t help but wonder what gives them the right to call the shots. They are employees after all. I haven’t heard Freddie Freeman complain about the Braves’ rebuild. Or Rizzo with the Cubs.
Rizzo was hardly an established player and was a product of the rebuild. Freeman openly criticized the FO for trading all his friends and talented teammates.
The difference between the Cubs and Braves here are the circumstance. The Marlins had a crap owner who sold the team to a crap group of owners, under financed and incompetent. Project wolverine is a joke and everyone sees this.
But yes indeed, he did sign with the team and play ball and shut up.
Could a player insert a clause into their contract that if a team is uncompetitive for a season or two they can opt out?
They could counter offer with a clause like that. But no team would agree to it imo. they’d rather grant an opt out.
A T L A N T A
The Braves have no position talent. Pitching for Yelich.
Olney need to tell you Pache is good before you’ll believe it? Sorry he hasn’t hit AA yet, but he’s already made the All-Elite Defenseman Team (whatevet that means) has elite speed and plate discipline. And at SunTrust, he could develop power just like Inciarte now has. Alex Jackson is a wild-card who is turning the corner last year and in the AFL, while Austin Riley continues to build on top of his inherent power. And then there’s Acuna. Sure, no position talent.
I understand and respect any player that wants to win but FLAT OUT, these players have no integrity to stick to their contracts without causing some sort of negative campaign towards their respective teams. Thier isn’t a member of that Marlins team that is bigger than “The Marlins” to command that much gravitas. He’s not Dirk Nowitzki
It’s pretty weak that the agent is complaining about the contract that the agent negotiated. “Climate” or not, the player has a contractual obligation to perform. They locked into a seven year agreement with Jeffrey Loria and didn’t expect at least one fire sale rebuild?
Lets look forward to the Braves being in constant discussion for Yelich and then ultimately will pass because they believe all their prospects will turn to HOFers! The rebuild will continue through the rest of the next decade!
Not all of The Braves prospects will turn out to be gold…..however our last GM, Coppy, did an absolute AMAZING job of drafting during The 2015-2017 Drafts! Plus, the previous GM, Frank Wren, signed both Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna to relatively small Latin American signing bonuses.
Braves fans are very high on Albies and Acuna (possibly being The Braves version of Altuve and Correa at the top of our batting order). Mike Soroka has a lot of ‘Greg Maddux’ in him…while Kolby Allard (Tom Glavine-like, with a better fastball)…..Kyle Wright (John Smoltz-like….who can both start and relieve)…in addition to the likes of Tooki Tousiant, Joey Wentz, Bryce Wilson, Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller and Ricardo Sanchez all vying to be high ceiling-like starting pitchers who will be knocking on The MLB door in the next few years!
The Braves can pick and choose who they want to be in what looks to be a very young/cheap/talented/cost controlled Starting Rotation for years to come….in addition to slotting those that may not work out as starters into a talented bullpen (AJ Minter dominated in September after his callup).
Combine that…with the $100 mil that we’ll have available to spend via The 2018 Free Agent Offseason (Freddie Freeman is a relative bargain at $21 mil in each of the next 4 seasons….in addition to Ender Inciarte having salaries of $4 mil, $5 mil, $7 mil, $8 mil and a team option of $9 mil in 2022).
After 2018…The Braves are in really good shape payroll-wise….in 2019, The Braves may have approximately 15 pre-arbitration players making SIGNIFICANT contributions to a playoff caliber team (if our GM offers $35 mil a year deals to BOTH Manny Machado AND Bryce Harper….as well as an $18 mil a year-ish deal to Craig Kimbrel)!
Yelich has been “Broken”
Delete, Delete, Delete!!
Lmaooooo #matthardy
99% of the time i support the players over ownership. But this is the 1%. Dude signed the extension cuz he wanted to, nobody forced him, plenty of guys go year to year and bet on themselves. You buy the ticket you take the ride. (though if i were a marlins fan i wouldn’t be buying tickets anytime soon)
It really hurts to see this, as a baseball fan. Not a Marlins fan, I live as a far from Florida (Seattle) as someone possibly could lmao. But going into 2017, I pegged the Marlins as a wild card team. With the offense they had, arguably the best outfield in the league, and a good bullpen, I figured the rotation was decent enough to have them in wild card contention. Boy was I surprised.
I think last year went about as well as it could have for them and they were still well off the pace for the wild card I don’t see that getting better for next year so they definitely had to rebuild. But I think they’ve done a terrible job doing it
Oh no, I know this. I knew they had to rebuild. But to me, it was surprising to see them do as bad as they did in 2017. No one could ever recover from a loss from a guy like Jose Fernandez.
Longo isn’t doing any favors for Yelich by crying a river to the media. When has that ever been a successful strategy. Marlins don’t have to trade him, and this may convince them not to. This is the downside of signing an extension early in a career. Yelich did it for the security which he still
has, but in doing so he forfeited his leverage in arbitration and free agency. Most of the young players in HOU have resisted the lowball extensions offered to them as has Lindor in Cleveland, and as long as they maintain their performance it will pay off. Yelich didn’t bet on himself, and he has no one BUT himself to blame for that.
Feel for Yellich. Let him get a chance at a ring. Dont waste his prime years.
Why does Yelich deserve a chance at a ring any more than any other player?
Yelich should be an easy trade to make, every team wants him. The Marlins get 2 top 50 prospects and 2 lower level prospects.
You are not even in the vicinity of what it would take. Start with an elite prospect. Anyone in the top 10 or so overall would work. Acuna from the Braves, Guerrero from the Jays, Torres from the Yankees, Whitley from the Astros, Tatis from the Padres, Jimenez from the White Sox, Robles from the Nationals. Start with one of those guys and then add a top 50 prospect and a couple of other good prospects. Make sure to include at least 2 OF that are MLB ready as once Yelich is traded not a single player on the Marlins is an OF by trade.
Why does that matter? They are in rebuild mode. They are actively tanking. If the Marlins were smart they’d just go waiverwire/piece meal an OF together. Who cares where they play positionally just collect impact talent. Hell they could run Dietrich and SVS out in LF, Joe freaking whoever in RF and wait on Sierra. Go find guys or trade for guys who are blocked or are intriguing who will cost nothing. All this talk of teams limiting themselves to a certain position kind of hurts the overall package. It’s not like the Marlins have a lock down inf and pitching in the bigs or close to support those mlb ready OFs. Their farm is terrible. Build it from the ground up with the best collection of talent you can obtain, sign well on the int market, and draft well. Or you end up in the same situation they were in a top flight OF with no pitching and a shaky LF side of the inf.
The Marlins are not taking anything but the very best at the top of a trade for Yelich.
They have a severe need in the OF, so that is going to be the 1st thing they focus on. In fact, they focused on their need for pitching in the previous trades this offseason. They got 2 guys that will join their pitching staff in 2018, Smith and Alcantara, and 2 others that are quality pitching prospects that are close to MLB ready in Neidert and Gallen. Guzman throws triple digits and may be the best of the pitching prospects they received.
With their lack of depth in the infield, it’s doubtful they run Dietrich to the OF.
Their farm system will rank somewhere in the middle of the pack after the past 4 trades.
what you said and what he said aren’t that far apart but I think his deal would get done as long as those lower prospects are still decent guys like 100 to 200 range
I agree, it would take A LOT to pry Yelich away from The Marlins. That’s why, as a Braves fan, I hope that we STAY AWAY from trading for him. I want to see my Braves keep Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Mike Soroka, Kolby Allard, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Tooki Tousiant, Christian Pache and Bryce Wilson!
We have a collection of talent….combined with HELLA payroll flexibility (starting once The 2018 Season is over with)….to, with the right Free Agent signings during The 2018 Free Agent Offseason, to field a roster of a few high priced Free Agents (to go along with Freddie Freeman and Ender Inciarte) along with approximately 15 pre-arbitration/high ceiling prospects, starting in 2019! Trading 4-5 of them for Yelich…when we can use our $100 mil in available payroll after The 2018 Season end, to sign Free Agents WITHOUT having to give up ANY of our prospects!
Ok, maybe rein it in a little. Yelich is valuable, especially with that contract, but he is not Mike Trout.
One of the top 5 prospects in baseball, another top 50, two more good prospects, AND a couple of MLB ready outfielders?
We are talking about a guy who’s good for maybe 4 to 5 WAR a season here, not 8. He put up a pretty mediocre 115 wRC+ last season, which placed him in the company of such standout players as Matt Joyce and Corey Dickerson. His best season is a 132 wRC+ in 2016, which still landed him below Ryan Braun and Edwin Encarnacion.
At the time of the trade Adam Eaton had just put up the 9th highest WAR in baseball; Yelich last year ranked 23rd. Yelich is very valuable, but teams are not going to gut their entire farm system to get him.
A 115 wRC+, by definition, is not mediocre. It’s 15 percent better than the league average. His 115 mark ranked in the top third of qualified hitters, and even if you drop the PA threshold to an arbitrary number like 200, he’s still comfortably in that top third.
Yelich has a 122 wRC+ and 124 OPS+ over the past three seasons, hasn’t even played out his age-26 campaign and is an elite defender in left or a passable option in center. And he’s being paid less than Nick Markakis or Josh Reddick with a contract that doesn’t include any of his decline.
Especially in an era where teams are clearly increasingly reluctant to make long-term commitments to players in their decline, you’re underselling him if you’re trying to dismiss his past few seasons as marginal.
I’m definitely not trying to dismiss his last few seasons. He’s a great player. My point is just that he’s not a transcendental, generational player.
You’re right that a 115 wRC+ is not strictly speaking mediocre if you are including every elite defensive SS and C, and all the guys that are actually dragging their teams down with their hitting. It is pretty mediocre however if you’re looking to him to be an offensive force in your lineup.
For example, do you know who else played CF last year and put up a 115 wRC+ and over 4 fWAR? Lorenzo Cain. You know, the guy literally any team could sign right now without losing any of their prospects.
You’re also right that teams are increasingly reluctant to make long-term commitments to players in their decline. They are also increasingly reluctant to part with young, cost-controlled players and top prospects.
.
Adam Eaton last year and Yelich this season are vitrually the same player. Adam Eaton was traded for two 55 FV SP and one 50 FV SP prospects. At the time of the Adam Eaton trade, most on here were up in arms claiming that the Nats overpaid and you’re talking about needing a top 10 overall prospects for Yelich. Top 10 prospects are 60+ FV. I would be surprised if any team traded a 60 FV and 55 FV, plus more for Yelich and think you will end up very disappointed if the Marlins do trade him.
The Cardinals need to jump after Yelich and their Closer!! Right now!!! Trade Fowler to whoever he wants to go to and eat half the contract. Even if it’s back to the Cubs. Sign Lynn back and we’re ready for 2018.
While I like this idea…Never gonna happen
Yelich played first base all through high school. In 2014, the Marlins were strongly considering beginning the season with Yelich at first base for them! The Cardinals need a first baseman. If he would do that, the Cardinals could also keep Fowler.
no trade clause on Fowler and yellowish is better but not that much of an upgrade for it to be worth moving all those prospects together
A trade most definitely would not be in the best interest of the team. Yelich is inexpensive and under long-term control. Unless his agent is trying to warn that Yelich will go into a personal tank, then his comment is stupid.
I think I would have less of a problem with this if Yelich was in his mid 30’s and just signed a 3yr deal. Then he would have a legit complaint since his playing window would be closing during a rebuild. He’s 26. and should be able to score another big contract in 6 yrs. Maybe the rebuild works quickly and Marlins are decent in 3 yrs and he could be part of it. Complaining now, before even a single game under new ownership, makes him seem very childish. He could have at least stuck it out for a year. If he is that upset about it – retire until they trade his rights away
No. The correct thing to do is go out there every day and play your arse off.
Then after each game you go into the Gms office and remind him you’re unhappy here and ask if they are pursuing trades that benefit both sides
Sitting out in mini retirement. No.
Marlins are literally getting strong-armed by everyone this offseason
Very true! Except that the Fish have all the leverage, so…you’re wrong
As much as I’d like to see him a Dodger the Padres, Bluejays, Royals and Phillies make more sense.
IMHO he’s not enough of an upgrade for the PhIllies for them to pay the prospect price.
Very true! Except that he’d easily and immediately be the Phillies best position player IMHO
Yes, he’d be their best player, but, for example, Altherr is probably a 2.5 – 3.0 WAR player if he gets 650 PA vs. Yelich being a 4 WAR player (rWAR).
Is that extra 1 – 1.5 WAR worth the prospect cost if the package has to include Sanchez, Kilome, Kingery or all three?
Personally, I don’t think so.
Altherr is projected by Steamer600 as a 0.8 WAR player in 2018. That is more than 3 WAR less than Yelich. Altherr is also a year older than Yelich.
Wow! Reaching big time
Well put. Would he be an upgrade? Absolutely. I believe prospects are just that. Its rare that the prospect pool sent to a selling team ever yields a player of the same value. Having said that, I don’t think the Phillies can afford to give up the sheer number of prospects that the Marlins would and should demand.
I said this earlier about Josh Harrison saying the same thing…
2430 MLB games a year means that teams will go 1215-1215. The wins will NOT be distributed evenly. Someone has to play for the losing teams, too. It’s almost too easy to explain this as “everybody gets a trophy” mentality gone wrong. But, here we are…
Suck it up and be a pro.
Be good and make your young teammates better and try to win. That’s your job.
And the “burn it down to the ground and trade everyone” mentality is a bit out of hand…
A) Teams need quality veterans to insulate and mentor young players.
B) His trade value will still be sky high in a few years when they have a better idea of what they need based on which current prospects pan out. Not everyone needs to go at the same time.
Agreed, Both sides are being ridiculous.
The 2006 Marlins had the best rookie class ever in MLB. I looked at all the predictions and only Jeremy Hermida was being watched as a future star by a majority of the sport writers.
Also in 2006, even though they were being paid well, most of the Tigers wanted to “play for a winner. elsewhere. First year Manager, Jim Leyland took them to task: “How do you expect to win somewhere else when you don’t expect to win here?” The team took off immediately after.
Helps that they had Prime Miggy on that squad too
At least you’re getting $7 million. A lifetime of money for 8 months of losing? See this is where athletes lose normal people
I can’t believe how many people are bashing Yelich. I’d be on the side of any player wanting to leave that toxic situation.
This isn’t some 10 year veteran who was made promises by an ownership only to have the same ownership break them. This is a kid with 4 years experience who knowingly signed past his arb years with a franchise that’s ownership was well known to sell off all the team’s talent when it started getting too expensive. When a new ownership comes in and sees the best chance for the team is tear down and rebuild Yelich’s agent has the audacity to talk about a broken relationship.
Personally, I have no problem with the kid requesting a trade. Players do it all the time. But to whine about it and imply the Marlins were already on the right track is just plain insulting to everybody who likes baseball.
New ownership, however, clearly has no intent of pushing for a division title in 2017 as payroll has been slashed by roughly $50MM. did his agent not know it’s going to be 2018, not 2017
he signed the deal. marlins under no obligation to trade him. what’s he going to do, quit? yelich, you’re probably stuck. make the most of it, while you count all that money. there are many of us out here that would trade to be in your shoes.
At his point in his career lol. The mfer is in the league 3 years and they’re supposed to ablige to his demands. F you and go play
Would Yelich void his contract and go back to league minimum and arbitration in exchange for being traded?
Good point! Except that it isn’t possible
Sure ain’t lol
You have to understand that players have dedicated their lives to play baseball and they are accustomed to being the best and/or playing w the best on travel teams, legion, etc. It’s a grind and for many they have their entire family and sometimes village/town depending on them. They finally make it to the majors and realize a dream…then some find out their org sucks and it’s a business.
Yelich signed as the Marlins were on an upswing…too bad Loria was still their owner. To put in nearly 20 years of your life to play baseball is a lot, but it is a grind when there are 5,000 fans and you are on your 3rd/4th/5th season of not competing. It’s hard to get up every day and put in the work.
I knew a bunch of Marlin players back in the day and I constantly heard about the struggle of fulfilling a dream (to make it to the majors), but doing it in front of crowds that look like the minor leagues. In a good year the marlins are the 4th most popular team (Dolphins, Heat, The U football) and their true fans are few. Yes…they make good money, but they constantly play in a stadium with more away fans. They play baseball for 3hr in a game, but there are a TON of hours in between and in the off-season they need to stay motivated. Most players hate losing. String enough losing seasons together and it’s hard to want to stay…even with the beaches and nightlife.
The first four words of the title seem superfluous.
Stop it with the yelich to Braves crap, They have a great CFer already who signed an extension. jeeez.
I agree, but I can understand the connection. Guy is going into his prime with an incredible contract for 5 years, will be an above-avg glove in the OF and his bat is trending up. At Suntrust he could hit 25+ HR with some SB and a decent average (read: the Heyward we were hoping for, minus a tick on the defense, which is allowed having Inciarte, Acuna, Pache in CF).
He’s a great player indeed, but we don’t need him. Especially at the cost it’s going to take to acquire him. I could see maybe swinging something from realmuto, but even that seems like a bit much.
Happ, Almora, Caritini, Almozay should get it done. Happ has the potential to replicate Yelich numbers alone. Add Almora. South Florida hero to sell tickets. Another couple solid pieces in Caritini and Almozay. Years and years Of cheap control for all
So the proper way to do this just might have been to play so well that everyone wants him. Be nice to the ownership and the GM. Do not “sour your relationship.” This should be obvious. If you don’t demand, maybe they’ll actually listen.
Did you say Yelich is a Braves must-have RF upgrade? What if the Markakis placeholder slid 690 miles south w/enough prospects for 2020 Fish contention? There’s a win/win!
I wouldn’t mind the yankees grabbing yelich for a year as a stop gap to Harper. He’s not quite the caliber player I’m looking for but he’s passable for a year until we get who we really want. I’d trade for him now and then flip him next year for a better shortstop then gregorios maybe package DD yelich and whoever to Cleveland for lindor.
Where exactly would he play with Gardner and Hicks locked into spots with Stanton and Judge ?
Get rid of Hicks he’s only a 3.5 star player
Excellent Trade solutions by Pepesilvia. Dodgers need to trade Kershaw to the Yankees already and take back Gardner while Cleveland includes Carrasco and take Ellsbury.
I think you might have lost your mind.
The Yanks are pretty much done. No one wants old Ellsbury and his over paid contract they won’t trade Torres n no cares about Frazier. They can’t sign any big FA pitcher because they are capped out. There only hope is Darvish settles for cheap otherwise they are pretty much done for the winter. I doubt they get Harper next year. For sure won’t get both Macho n Harper with Stranton,s contract. Just being real
A 26 year old and star caliber on a 5 year inexpensive contract as a one year stop gap? You done lost your mind.
Williams (altherr or Herrera if preferred), Sanchez, alfaro, and moniak. Welcome to Philly yelich.
Why wouldn’t the Yankees have interest in Yelich? He would be a cost-controlled leadoff hitter for the next decade and as a replacement for Gardner, it would open up ~6 million(?) in luxury tax space (not sure on the exact numbers). As much as I love Gardner and acknowledge the leadership role he has developed, the decline years are coming and he is an impending FA. He has trade value now, probably not a lot, but enough to ensure another team would accept his full salary. The savings would be used towards Darvish, or another player the Yankees are interested in but currently restricted from with the luxury tax reset plan.
It’s feasible Yelich could be acquired for a package which doesn’t include Gleyber. Use Frazier as the centerpiece and fill it out from there. Just because you have the #2 prospect in MLB doesn’t make him an absolute requirement, especially with the Yankee’s depth of talent.
So why would the Marlins want Frazier? He has 6 years of control remaining with a talent ceiling comparable to Yelich’s. I’m of the belief he did nothing to lower his “young asset/prospect” value last year, despite the drop off in production at the end. With inconsistent playing time and it being his first taste of the show, he showed the ability to make adjustments (back leg improvement) with flashes of extra-base power. He was not overmatched.
I am certainly not advocating the Yankees gut the farm for Yelich, but they should be able to beat any other reasonable offer out there with talent to spare. With what basically amounts to a public trade demand, the Marlin’s leverage has been lowered, it will be a recurring drama if they keep him, at least that’s what his agent’s actions today insinuate.
Frazier is an acceptable centerpiece, it’s been established the Pirates liked him better than any of the players received in the Cole trade, so that is some confirmation that his value isn’t just “Yankees Hype.” He was the centerpiece of a trade for Andrew Miller’s multiple years of control, in the same time-frame where Gleyber was a centerpiece for 1 year of Chapman.
Or the Yankees could just keep Frazier and hope he develops into a stable major league performer, that’s ok in my book as well. But Yelich is more of a sure thing, and that is why prospects are traded for established players.
Marlins aren’t trading Yelich for an “acceptable” trade. Frazier isn’t going to cut it. If Pitt really thought that highly of Frazier I would assume they would’ve included him in the trade.
Sheffield & Florial would be the kind of headliners that would require he Fish to receive in trading Yelich
“Although Pittsburgh ended up trading Cole to Houston on Saturday for a four-player package, the Pirates valued Frazier over everyone they got back from the Astros, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic.” goo.gl/yoXnQY
Pitt went quantity over quality.
I used the word acceptable as in meaning it’s not far-fetched or illogical. Frazier was last ranked as high as the #16 prospect in MLB (BP) and is now a major league ready asset after conquering AAA in 2017. Florial hasn’t played a game in AA nor Sheffield in AAA. GMs value distance from MLB because so much can go wrong before then. I never said one of those two guys couldn’t be included, but Frazier is a centerpiece.
difference is Pirates don’t want to totally reset the clock. Marlins have already reset the clock so they aren’t looking for quantity IMO. They want elite young talent to get their fan base excited. Getting Acuna, Torres, Robles, Guerro Jr or Bichette is something they can sell fans on. Otherwise keep Yelich and make him the face.
The point is Frazier isn’t quantity, he is a top quality prospect
I’ll quote from the original comment since I know it was long:
He was the centerpiece of a trade for Andrew Miller’s multiple years of control, in the same time-frame where Gleyber was a centerpiece for 1 year of Chapman.
Not a Marlins fan so don’t know much about their roster, but seems Yelich, Castro, and Realmoto may be whiners. Teams that have continuity at catcher, short & 2nd, and center usually stay competitive. Florida may be a surprise sooner than others give credit.
might as well attach Castro with Yelich, both want out bad.
This guy is 26. that’s an old man if you asked bob nutting
Yelich would be an amazing fit with the Rox.
He’s a mini Blackman and would compliment that OF, team and City.
McMahon & Hoffman and get it done!
As much as I’d like to see him in Philly, I gotta question any player saying they deserve to be on a winning team. And he signed an extension with the Marlins,who’ve been in operation for 25 or so years,and they’ve already had 3 or 4 rebuilds. Hello!!!! I get not wanting to lose,but there’s 25 active players on every roster,and they all pretty much put the work in to deserve the chance to win. What’s the matter Yelich, scared you can’t lead a team?
Reminds me of Coach Carter.
There goes our 2 best scorers,
Well I guess we’ll have new top scorers than.
Unfortunately, instead of stepping up to the plate, Yelich and Realmuto are acting more like the Spanish kid who gets kicked off the team.
New generation feels entitled, pride of earning something is bygone term.
Kakis, Pache FV 55, Fried FV 50, Anderson FV 55, Demeritte FV 45.
I think this could work.