House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves trade rumors – the chatter is increasing

By Alan Carpenter

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 22: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres crosses the plate after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning off starting pitcher Rich Hill #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 22: Hunter Renfroe #10 of the San Diego Padres crosses the plate after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning off starting pitcher Rich Hill #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 10: Outfielder Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners grounds out in the bottom of 1st inning during the game two of the Japan and MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 10: Outfielder Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners grounds out in the bottom of 1st inning during the game two of the Japan and MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) /

So Who is this about?

Over the past couple of days, I’ve starting hearing new chatter, but it’s honestly not as clear as you might think.  This next bit will dove-tail from Fred’s treatment of this subject, but it also won’t overlap, either.  In truth, there are still a lot of possibilities.

  • The knee-jerk reaction I would make from the above revisit of Stacy’s tweet is that this sounds like the Marlins and J.T. Realmuto again.
    • The Marlins have been forcing everybody to wait out catcher demand all along.
    • Oddly, the rumors about Realmuto specifically seem to have dried up over the past couple of weeks, which would make one think that suitors are losing interest.
    • That’s probably not true, but it does suggest that nobody is moving on prices… which might fit the ‘30%’ part well.
  • Nick Castellanos from Detroit?  His name hasn’t come up since the first of the New Year either, but while you’d think there might still be some interest, I don’t know that this would constitute a ‘big deal’ unless… Michael Fulmer were somehow involved.

There were some (unsolicited) thoughts from our SodoMojo.com, our sister site in the Great Northwest that Mitch Haniger could be in play:

  • While Seattle GM Jerry DiPoto has clamped down on ideas of trading Haniger unless being ‘overwhelmed’ by a trade, there’s also more to that story.
    • The Mariners need pitching.  Marco Gonzalez and Yusei Kikuchi are their #1 and #2 in the rotation, and then things drop off quickly.
    • DiPoto can never be trusted to not trade anyone on his roster.
  • This final thought was actually shot down by David O’Brien this afternoon as word of Sonny Gray‘s (possibly) quick departure from the Bronx emerged.
  • Remember Clint Frazier?  He was supposed to be roaming the Yankees’ outfield by now.  But after injury and the arrival of Giancarlo Stanton (not necessarily in that order), he’s a blocked player.
    • So…package deal?
    • Jon Heyman noted that ‘Teams are also asking about [relievers] Tommy Kahnle and Jonathan Holder‘.  Holder would definitely fit the bill – he doesn’t walk the house, so that part rang true.
    • That sounds almost reasonable, but as noted, Dave O’Brien believes that the Braves and Yankees haven’t talked about Gray for quite a while now.
    • My own musings about the Yankees included them trading Gray, thus clearing salary (a bit) to jump in on the Machado scrum (if 3 teams constitutes a scrum).  But they just signed Adam Ottavino, so maybe that won’t happen with Machado?

Which of these do you like?  And which would you hate?  Of note:  they are all still quite plausible.

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