Oakland Athletics MLB Trade and Roster Rumors: A's Interested in Marlins Outfielders Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich
This offseason, teams around the league will be operating under the assumption that the Miami Marlins are looking to shed some salary by unloading some of their top veterans.
Four-time All-Star Giancarlo Stanton will get the most attention in the trade market, but Marlins outfielders Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich are drawing some trade interest as well.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser, the Oakland Athletics have expressed interest in acquiring an outfielder who's under team control for several years and Ozuna and Yelich happen to be on their list. However, Slusser said the A's prefer a right-handed hitter (Ozuna).
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The A's can't go wrong with either player. Both are stars in their own rights and they have team-friendly contracts.
Ozuna hit a career-best 37 homers last season while posting a 0.312/0.376/0.548 slash line along the way and he has just received the Gold Glove award as the National League's (NL) top left fielder. He is under control through 2019.
Meanwhile, Yelich posted a 0.282/0.369/0.439 slash line last season, and he had 18 home runs, 80 runs batted in, and 16 stolen bases. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2016, and he is under team control through the 2022 season.
The A's can easily absorb either of their contracts and they do have the assets to pull off a trade. In fact, Slusser has reported that the team is willing to part ways with infielder Ryon Healy to seal the deal.
"Oakland will have money to spend after trading many of its higher-priced players in July. Plus, Billy Butler's contract is now off the books. Though the A's won't entertain moving any of their core young major-leaguers, apart from designated hitter-corner infielder Ryon Healy, the team has compiled some good minor-league talent over the past several years and could be willing to part with some of it in exchange for a big bat," Slusser said in her report.
