Phillies rumors: Christian Yelich trade talk becoming serious
By John Town
The idea of a trade between the Phillies and Marlins is gaining more and more traction and Christian Yelich continues to be linked to Philadelphia.
A 30-60 Phillies team doesn’t profile as the typical buyer at the trade deadline, but with their large prospect and cash pools the team may be a sleeper for making a splash this season.
A team Philadelphia continues to be connected to is the Miami Marlins. They are currently in the process of being sold and may need to shed some of their financial burdens (i.e. major-league contracts) to help stay afloat. Two of their talented outfielders, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, have both been linked to Philadelphia in potential trades.
This latest rumor between the two sides focuses on Yelich, Miami’s 25-year-old center fielder. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote Sunday that talks between the teams about trading Yelich are intensifying:
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"A few weeks back we wrote about the resources the Phillies have to be active in trades or free agency. We mentioned the possibility of them taking on Giancarlo Stanton’s contract while also having interest in Christian Yelich. Well, the Yelich part is heating up. There are conflicting stories on whether the Marlins have the OK to trade away major talent as the franchise is being sold, but it looks like the Phillies will pursue this."
This comes just a couple days after Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Phils “kicked around” the concept of trading for Yelich and/or Stanton, so there could be some weight behind this.
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The variable in this equation is the fact that the Marlins are being sold. They may have to wait until after the sale is completed, which could take some time. This would push a potential trade into the winter perhaps. However, the Marlins appear ready to trade every major-league asset they have, so Yelich could very well be on the move.
Yelich has been consistently solid player since reaching the major-leagues in 2013. He has a career .795 OPS (119 OPS+). This season, he has a .288/.364/.412 slash line with 1.9 fWAR. Yelich has played left and center field in his career but is a better fielder in left.
Philadelphia’s outfield hasn’t been great this season (but what has?) and ranks 22nd in MLB with 3.2 fWAR. Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr are established options in center and right fields, but there is a vacancy in left field that Yelich could fill.
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Joe Giglio of NJ.com wrote about which prospects Philadelphia could offer up in a trade with the Marlins. He said Mickey Moniak, Dylan Cozens, and Franklyn Kilome could all become part of a package for Yelich. Coincidentally, Moniak was compared to Yelich as he was drafted, so if he is traded to Miami, they could end up with a similar player to the one they traded away.