Marlins, Rays close to Yunel Escobar Trade

The Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly close to completing a deal that would send current Marlins third baseman Yunel Escobar to the Rays to fill their shortstop hole in return for  prospect Derek Dietrich, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.

Dietrich was ranked as the 15th best prospect on the Rays by Fangraphs, 9th by Baseball America, and graded out as a C+ prospect by Minor League Ball’s John Sickels before the season began. Dietrich would likely slot somewhere between 8-10 in the Marlins top prospect lists, due out later this off-season.

Dietrich was drafted as a shortstop, but most scouts see him moving over to third base as he moves up in the minors. Dietrich hit .282/.343/.468 (.367 wOBA) in High-A before earning a late-season promotion to Double-A. In Double-A, Dietrich continued his hot hitting .271/.324/.429 (.346 wOBA). He graded out as better than league average there.

Baseball America sees him as a second or third baseman long-term, and with his above-average power, Dietrich has a solid chance of becoming an above-average major leaguer in his career.

Escobar was recently acquired by the Marlins in the mega-trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was reportedly accommodating to move to third to play for the Marlins, but the Marlins were looking to trade Escobar even before the deal with the Jays was finalized.

Stay tuned to Marlins Daily for more updates.