MLB Trades: Marlins send defensive whiz Adeiny Hechavarria to Rays
The Marlins get salary relief and two prospects while the Rays appear to be buyers
The Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins have agreed to a trade, according to multiple reports, that seems to signal the different directions the two Florida franchises are set to take in the next five weeks. Good defensive shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria has been sent along with his full salary to the Rays in exchange for minor-leaguers Braxton Lee and Ethan Clark, both teams announced.
So it appears the Marlins are sellers and the Rays are buyers.
The Marlins sit 10 1/2 games back in the NL East and even further back of the second NL wild-card spot. They have some good, young talent that they'll likely keep, but there are still pieces that can be sold. In dealing Hechavarria, it appears they are set to shed salary and add to the minors. The Miami Herald reports that starter Tom Koehler along with relievers David Phelps and A.J. Ramos could be dealt. So no inclusion of names like Christian Yelich or Marcell Ozuna -- which has to be a relief for Marlins fans -- means it's not a full-scale sell-off, but instead tinkering around the edges.
On the flip-side, it appears the Rays are buyers. Hechavarria isn't much of a hitter and he had been injured, but he's ready to come back and has a good defensive track record at a premium position. He scored out at nine defensive runs saved last season and 10 the year before. The Rays have been using a combination of Tim Beckham and Daniel Robertson at short with Matt Duffy injured and neither is as good as Hechavarria with the glove.
The Rays being buyers means that people should stop talking about their coveted starting pitchers in trade rumors, such as Chris Archer.
As for the Marlins' return, Braxton Lee is a center fielder who is hitting .318/.387/.391 with 12 stolen bases in Double-A. Ethan Clark is a 22-year-old, right-handed pitcher in Class A, where he has a 3.11 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 55 innings.
















