Ryan Braun very nearly became a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, as I'm sure most of us remember. But according to a new report from Jon Paul Morosi, the Brewers trading the face of their franchise to LA still remains a distinct possibility, as both sides have continued staying in contact regarding the team's longest tenured player.
The Dodgers remain one of six teams the Brewers could trade Braun to without his permission, according to Morosi, but that no-trade list becomes a moot point in about a month. Braun gains his 10-and-5 (10 years in the majors, 5 with the same team) no-trade rights on May 24th, meaning he would need to be consulted before a trade with any team is finalized.
Luckily for the Brewers, it sounds like Braun has been kept in the loop on the constant trade talks:
"It's something I greatly appreciate," Braun said. "It's not something they needed to do, by any means. It's something that meant a lot to me. It was a unique position to be in.
"More than anything, it gives me perspective on what everybody else deals with, [players] who've been through it multiple times and had no idea it was coming. I couldn't imagine -- for other guys who have families, who have wives, who have children in schools -- having to uplift their lives and move somewhere else ... It gave me greater appreciation of how fortunate I've been to spend my first 11 [seasons] in the big leagues with the same organization."
Braun says that openness means even if he is still a Brewer on May 24th, he doesn’t think the increased trade protection will get in the way of the team striking a deal.
"Obviously, things can change. Circumstances can change. Who knows where the future takes us? But I don't foresee [the no-trade protection] having much of an impact on anything moving forward, just because of my relationship with Mark [Attanasio], David [Stearns] and [Assistant GM] Matt [Arnold]."
Morosi also speculates that the Dodgers’ biggest rival, the San Francisco Giants, might also make sense as a landing spot for Braun, considering their lack of production in the outfield. While that makes sense at the big league level, the Giants don’t have the prospect capital to spend like the Dodgers do, and it’s hard to imagine them being able to put together an offer that would compete with a potential LA offer.
The speculation is sure to increase over the next month or two, so stay tuned.