BRAVES NEWS
The risk/reward of trading for Realmuto and Yelich
Even though there hasn’t been too much movement on this rumor since word leaked out a while back that the Braves were interested in trading for J.T. Realmuto and Christian Yelich, that hasn’t stopped the speculation over what it would take for Atlanta to get one or even both of those players to become Braves players. Our newest writer decided to weigh the risks and rewards of a potential trade and even laid out a trade proposal as well.
Not much movement on trade talks between Braves and Marlins
The reason why we haven’t heard much other than speculation about a potential trade is because there hasn’t been much talk between the two teams. In his latest Inside Baseball column for FanRag Sports, Jon Heyman stated that the Braves and Marlins haven’t discussed a trade since the Winter Meetings. That sound you hear is the Hot Stove slowly and sadly cooling off for the umpteenth time during this offseason.
Albies is already in very good company, statistically
This last bit of information isn’t exactly news but it should serve as a reminder that the Braves have plenty of young talent on their hands and Ozzie Albies is one of them. We all knew that Albies had a very good debut but some of the stats that Mike Petriello are eye-popping and should get you excited about what the future holds for Ozzie.
I may have been sleeping on Ozzie Albies too much. At 20, he had a 112 wRC+ in 244 PA.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) January 7, 2018
Only guys to do that in last 30 years (>110 wRC+, >240 PA, 20 or younger):
Devers
Correa
Harper (x2)
Trout
Heyward
Stanton
A-Rod
Griffey, Jr.
I mean.. good god, man. pic.twitter.com/LWZJds6I9d
MLB NEWS
Washington showing interest in a couple of arms
You know things are pretty slow when Greg Holland and Lance Lynn are currently two of the hottest names on the free agent market right now. That’s the case since there’s news that the Nationals are interested in potentially bringing both of them into the fold. Granted, both players aren’t exactly in their prime years but at the same time, they’d still help out Washington’s pitching situation. Plus, the Nats can’t really break the bank right now due to luxury tax concerns and the looming specter of Bryce Harper’s free agency, as Federal Baseball explained in the linked post.
Franco gets temporarily suspended from Dominican League team
In other NL East news, Maikel Franco is currently busy playing for his hometown team in the Dominican Winter League. He’s basically doing it at this point as a point of local pride. With that being said, Franco may know his local area a bit too well, as he was spotted partying at 6 AM on the morning before a Round Robin game. His team suspended him, he aplologized and then the suspension was lifted. Ah, the joys of Winter Baseball!