MLB trade rumors: Athletics interested in Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna

The Athletics are looking into possibly acquiring Marlins outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Athletics have an interest in both these players because they are young, provide big bats and are controllable. Yelich, a 25-year-old left-handed hitter who hit 18 home runs with 81 RBI while slashing .282/.369/..439 in 156 games, has four years, $46.5 million left on his contract. Ozuna, a 26-year-old right-handed slugger who blasted 37 homers and racked up 124 RBI while posting a .312/.376/.548 slash line, is under control through 2019 and is “projected to make more than $10 million in arbitration this winter,” Slusser said.

The A’s have a couple things going for them, as they have money to spend and they have some good prospects in their system that Slusser says they “could be willing to part with” in order to get one or both of these bats. However, the Marlins could ask for a lot of talent in return for Yelich and/or Ozuna given how they have performed and that are , even though the club’s new ownership wants to shed as much payroll as possible. After all, they have said they want to trade Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Martin Prado in hopes of fulfilling this goal, but moving Yelich or Ozuna could help out that cause as well.