Even if their production were the same (and I think most would concede that Bellinger will likely outproduce Braun the next 4 years), it surprises me how much people overlook the cost control element of trading proven players and prospects. Trade value in its simplest form is nothing more than the surplus value of what a player would get as a free agent weighed against their actual contract. Its part of what has caused difficulties trading Braun -- he'd likely get 4/80 as a free agent right now, but if he exceeded it, it likely wouldn't be by much. Which is why to get anything worthwhile, we have to be willing to eat some of the contract to improve the surplus value. That's really why guys like Bellinger for Braun were never realistic. No matter how you feel about the unproven nature of prospects, high ceiling ones with 6 years control have tremendous value. Bellinger makes essentially nothing for the rest of Braun's contract and therefore has about a $75M head start in surplus value before you even consider production and control beyond that. I know we want to shoot for the moon on the most valuable player we've had in decades, but the reality is Braun's injuries and contract cause him to not really be all that close to the top of our roster in terms of surplus value. He's behind Thames, Broxton, Knebel, Perez, and probably numerous others in that regard. And several prospects in our system who haven't played a day in the majors. Just the way it is.