Is it that time of year already? The time for rampant speculation about screwing over other teams because you don't know what you're talking about?
This is a headline:
Brewers more likely to trade Ryan Braun than Norichika Aoki
That is an actual, honest-to-goodness headline on a fairly reputable site. I did not make it up, it is out there. It is real. It exists. I'll link to it in a bit, when it goes over the top ridiculous. Right now, that headline is just silly. This discussion has been had before.
The Brewers aren't going to trade Ryan Braun. Not unless they get something beyond his value. That's not happening, especially in light of recent events. No team will offer fair value. GM Doug Melvin has his faults, sure, but trading is something that he has done an excellent job of in recent years. Melvin also wants to compete, and seems to always ask for a lot for a trade. Aoki is much more tradeable. He has a year remaining on a moderate contract, is a nice player, isn't key to the Brewers future. Aoki makes sense in a trade.
But, sure, in the right kind of trade, maybe Braun could be traded quicker than Norichika Aoki. This is from SportsNet New York's Mets section, so I'm guessing this is a pretty big deal. We know the two teams have had discussions. The Mets need an outfielder. OK, so what would New York give up? Zach Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard or something? That's a lot, but it's Ryan Braun and...
There is a better chance the Brewers trade OF Ryan Braun for Mets 1B Ike Davis than deal OF Norichika Aoki, according to people familiar with the team’s thinking.
...........Now it's absurd. Here is the link, now that you can fully grasp how insane Matthew Cerrone of SportsNet New York is. As you can see, that bold quoted mess is his first line. That's what he led off with.
Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, ohdeardeardear.
Poor, sweet, Matthew Cerrone. I understand page views are important. I do. We, the viewers, are the product being marketed to those advertisers. I love page views! But oh my god you aren't going to get more page views by making stupid articles like this (well, maybe you'll get a job with Yahoo).
He says the Brewers are trying to make room for Khris Davis. They probably are. That they are looking for a power bat at first base. They probably are. But, no, the Brewers aren't going to trade an MVP winner signed long-term for Ike Davis. And I like Davis! If David Wright were suspended for PEDs, the Mets wouldn't trade him for Juan Francisco. Same thing applies to Braun and Davis.
Ryan Braun was suspended for 65 games due to a connection to Biogenesis. He won his first appeal when he tested positive for elevated testosterone. Someone lost their job because of it. Ergo, according to so many people, Ryan Braun is an evil person and the Brewers will trade him for pretty much nothing. Or salary relief that they don't really need because they would want to spend that salary on someone like Ryan Braun.
Knock it off with this, sports writers. It makes no sense. Stop making fans who read your site stupider by writing about inane things like this. Whoever these people familiar with the Brewers thinking are, next time they come up to you, just pretend your listening next time while writing about something that might actually have a grain of truth to it.
Or maybe I'm just reading this article the wrong way. Maybe the Brewers are just SUPER DUPER likely to keep Norichika Aoki.