The Atlanta Braves are on drugs, Marlins need to take advantage
By Ehsan Kassim
Editor’s note: Ehsan is speculating here, and any thought of a trade of this kind would be HIGHLY unlikely. We can dream, but we should all also be realistic. -MJ
I woke up this morning and saw Buster Olney’s daily column. Usually I just read through it and move on with my day. However, today one tidbit Olney mentioned really caught my attention.
"He has been viewed an organizational building block, but he struggled through injuries and slumps in 2011, and there are voices within the franchise asking the question of whether he can be counted on. With Chipper Jones nearing the end of his career, the Braves have needed another middle-of-the-order hitter, and a year ago, their hope was that Heyward would be that guy. The Braves need power production out of right field. Now there is some sentiment within the organization that Atlanta might be better off dealing [Jason Heyward] and taking advantage of his value or, at the very least, considering alternatives as they wait for him to develop.The Braves have a lot of excellent young pitching, and they have everyday regulars entrenched at catcher and at first, second and third base and in two outfield spots. But they need to identify a shortstop, and they need to decide what they think Heyward will become, because they have a lot invested in him."
Now if the Atlanta Braves are actually serious about this type of move, then Larry Beinfest needs to get Frank Wren on the phone A.S.A.P and work out a deal.
The Marlins want to make a big splash going in free agency heading into a new era of the Miami Marlins starting in 2012. A trade for budding superstar Jason Heyward would definitely help the Marlins accomplish this. Heyward would be a perfect player to combine with Mike Stanton and Hanley Ramirez going forward.
Why deal would make sense for Atlanta?
Now the question is what would it take to acquire Jason Heyward. If I am Larry Beinfest, I offer the Braves up Logan Morrison and Matt Dominguez for Jason Heyward. Logan Morrison would be the center piece of the deal going to the Braves. The Braves can move him to LF and Martin Prado to RF. This won’t improve the defense much, but I don’t seem to think that the Braves care much about defense in the first place.
Matt Dominguez wouldn’t be the center piece of the deal, but he’d be a major part as well. Dominguez seems to be a season or two away from being Major League ready. The Braves would have their third basemen of the future when Chipper Jones finally decides to retire.
Why this deal makes sense for the Marlins?
While Logan Morrison has showed a lot of promise and is likely to be a very good MLB player, he has run into trouble with the Marlins brass often because of his Twitter usage and candidness. This would be the best opportunity for the Marlins to trade him without getting into trouble with the fans. This move would clearly be an upgrade for the Marlins and give them a fantastic young outfield duo. Let’s compare the numbers between Heyward and Morrison.
Player | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Logan Morrison | 812 | .259 | .351 | .460 | .353 | 2.2 |
Jason Heyward | 1079 | .255 | .362 | .427 | .329 | 7.2 |
The offensive numbers thus far look pretty even. This is with Heyward having a horrific batting season. The thing that puts Heyward over the top of Morrison is his defense.
Even though Heyward is having a down season, the Atlanta Braves are clearly going insane in even thinking about trading budding superstar Jason Heyward. If they are evenly remotely serious, the Marlins need to hit up the Braves and acquire Heyward for Logan Morrison and Matt Dominguez. This would certainly qualify as a major splash for the Marlins. This would also be a very cost effective move. The Marlins would still have enough cash flow to hopefully go sign C.J Wilson.