Doug Melvin: We Aren’t Trading Ryan Braun

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

A day after a report surfaced that the Milwaukee Brewers had discussed trading outfielder Ryan Braun to the New York Mets, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin addressed the rumors.

Melvin spoke to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and said there is no truth to the rumors.

"We have no intentions of trading Ryan. There’s absolutely no truth to that. We’ve never contacted any team about Ryan."

According to Melvin, four or five teams have contacted him about Braun’s availability but he simply told them no.

Braun is coming off a 65-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs, and some around the league felt like the Brewers would try and rid themselves of the drama that surrounds him by trading him. As of now, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Besides, unloading Braun would be no easy task. He is owed $127 million over the next seven years and has a partial no-trade clause in his contract. Not only would the Brewers have to find a team willing to pay at least some of his hefty contract, they’d also have to make sure Braun would waive his no-trade clause.

Furthermore, the Brewers have discussed moving Braun to right field to make room for Khris Davis, who made a surprising impact in 2013.  Norichika Aoki would also move to left field.

Melvin had this to say about the situation:

"If we decide to do that, the left-field position is more workable than right field. Finding a left fielder is easier than finding a right fielder. Ryan shouldn’t have any trouble."

It seems that moving Braun to right field is inevitable and smart move. Taking Aoki’s bat out of the lineup isn’t ideal, but if Davis can continue his powerful 2013 campaign, it’ll pay off in the end.

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