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In a recent trade predictions piece, Bleacher Report.com’s Zachary D. Rymer proposes a handful of ‘wild’ trade packages for some of MLB’s biggest stars.
And yep, as you figured, the Philadelphia Phillies are right in the thick of the rumors and speculation.
In the piece, Rymer proposes a trade that would send Bryce Harper (and Bryan Rincon) to the Atlanta Braves for Ronald Acuña Jr.
Definitely very wild, but let’s dive into the recent idea and see if it really makes any sense….
Philadelphia Phillies fans would probably be distraught if they had to suddenly root for one of their arch-rivals’ best players.
The Phillies have gotten to know Acuña Jr. quite well over the years, as the 5X MLB All-Star and former NL MVP has been tormenting the Phillies with his theatrics on the field for pretty much his entire career.
And the same can be said about Braves fans having to root for Harper, who has been a career-long NL East player who has just destroyed Atlanta with the bat in his hands.
Here is part of the reasoning that Rymer uses for his ‘wild’ trade idea:
“For his part, Acuña has been blunt with some of his criticisms of various Braves coaches (see here and here). Even if that’s all water under the bridge, a change of scenery might still be the best thing for the 28-year-old. Health and consistency have eluded him since his NL MVP-winning season in 2023. A fresh start won’t necessarily change that, but other teams have every reason to wonder if it would. So, why not swap the two players? The obvious answer is “Because they’re NL East rivals, you fool,” and that is fair. Even so, the shoe fits on both ends. The Phillies need youth and a right-handed bat, and the Braves need more present upside than Acuña has shown over the last two years.”
This would be an obvious shutdown by Philadelphia Phillies’ upper management.
As much as they may want to shake up their core after a somewhat disappointing exit from the MLB playoffs, they are very likely not going to trade their $330 million MVP, Bryce Harper, and certainly not going to offload him to the Atlanta Braves.
And even talking from a logical baseball perspective, Harper has been a much better, more durable, and more productive player than Ronald Acuña Jr. has been in recent seasons.
Now, a more realistic route that the Phillies could go this offseason is trading for other All-Star players (outfielders) like Steven Kwan, which would make much more sense, or signing a corner outfielder like Randy Arozarena, Ian Happ, or Seiya Suzuki.
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