You didn’t think we were going to make it to the weekend without another look at the market for Giancarlo Stanton, surely? The Marlins slugger, fresh off of receiving the National League MVP Award yesterday, is still the biggest name to watch. Here’s the latest:
- Offers are flowing in on Stanton now that the GM Meetings have wrapped up, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes. The Giants have submitted some kind of proposal, according to Rosenthal, with the Cardinals and Red Sox among the other teams believed to be lining up their own concepts for Miami to consider. Rosenthal adds that the San Francisco organization would be willing to take on much of Stanton’s contract, but may in turn need to shed salary elsewhere. It’s interesting to note the Sox’ active interest, since president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski had thrown some cold water on the idea of a major acquisition of late.
- Stanton himself discussed the odd situation he faces — with his name splashed about headlines due both to his evident availability in trade and his MVP nod — as Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reports. The Marlins star says he’d rather remain with the Fish, but thinks the team needs to “thoroughly address[]” its pitching with “a huge push” that, frankly, does not seem likely. (Stanton says he’s “not entirely sure” it’s realistic, but adds: “But I know all teams have plenty of money.”) Generally, Stanton called the situation “interesting,” but seems to be at peace with the process. “This is the only place I’ve known,” he said, “but I also understand the business part of it and the direction the new ownership wants to go.”
- Super-agent Scott Boras sided with Stanton on the spending point in his recent comments to the media, chiding teams like the Marlins for drawing up plans to reduce payroll. But MLB commissioner Rob Manfred defended the rights of organizations — particularly, those with new owners — to modify payroll as part of their long-term strategies, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports on Twitter. “I think it’s unfair, really, to criticize a decision — if it turns out to be the decision — to move a player who has a contract that somebody else negotiated,” Manfred said in an oblique reference to Stanton’s situation. “… I hope that the fans of Miami — whatever decisions are made — give [new Marlins owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter] an opportunity to show what their plan for moving that franchise forward is.”
cardsfan0123
Come on Stanton go to the cardinals
Free Clay Zavada
I just ignore everything that Boras says, possibly the most biased person in sports.
mlb fan
Scott Boras is almost as annoying as MSM itself…..just a big bag of hot air every year at this time…….
Jeff Todd
To be fair, his job is to be biased for his clients, not to give objective takes.
casey
Doesn’t mean he isn’t annoying though.
mrnatewalter
I’m sure his clients are so annoyed every time they see the contracts he negotiated for them.
casey
I would not think they are annoyed at all. They pay him money to do what he does.
mlb fan
Scott Boras clients routinely also lead MLB in being the most hated PED linked players ala Arod, Manny Ramirez, Garry Sheffield and several others……and the NY MSM routinely refers to Matt Harvey as the “24+1” man, meaning he is an island on one side and the team is on the other side…..
that also has to be said about Scott Boras because he oftens gets his clients involved in VERY negative storylines…..But I do not dispute that he is good at getting every last dollar, most of the time…
callmenate
That’s because those names you just listed are the best in the game.
InPolesWeTrust
True, his points seem to irk most, except his clients…
mlb fan
Ask Steven Drew, Kendrys Morales or RYAN MADSEN how much money they lost when Scott Boras OVERPLAYED his hand in negotiations?……Kyle Lohse anyone?
mike156
Boras is smart. Two problems Stanton poses for Boras. A) it’s possible to overpay a player no matter how good he may be, and devalue him as an asset, and Stanton demonstrates that, and B) as long as Stanton is out there,he represents significant competition for Martinez, Moose, and Hosmer for team dollars, Worse, if a trade is made and Miami eats significant $, you get a benchmark that may be seen as a ceiling.
mrnatewalter
Wait, so he talks up the guys he is legally and contractually obligated to represent?
Color me shocked. SHOCKED!
mlb fan
Scott Boras does mostly well by his top of the market clients, but has left SEVERAL middle market type players such as Ryan Madsen, Kendrys Morales, Steven Drew, and Kyle Lohse holding the bag while he overplayed his hand greatly……….
Ejemp2006
My point on the rising spending is the money ultimately comes from the fans. I’ve often wondered how much further they could inflate the price of tickets and amenities at the games. At some point there has to be price relief. Teams like the Marlins, are they planning on reducing the price of admission when they strip the team? Probably not.
Dwak15
I think the Yankees should try to get him, 295 sounds a lot better than the apparently 500 million Harper will cost. Also taking on the contract might help give up less top prospects.
sfg415sfc
Stantons OPS is sky high in 4 NL West ball parks. SD, Col, LA, SF in that order. Slightly lower in Az checking in at under .900. Despite the pitching and pitcher friendly parks (-COL&AZ) he’d feast out west.
RedFeather
All things equal. smaller parks from east coast to midwest.. and you do know the countries elevation grows the further west you go, right?
Vedder80
His OPS is just sky high being over .900 for his career.
Long Duc Dong
Houston is his likeliest destination. They can take on the salalry and he would also benefit from the dh spot. He has played long enough without winning this is his shot. The rich get richer.
fathead112805
No they can’t..taking on $295mill prevents them from locking up Correa/Altuve/Springer…
Long Duc Dong
Not too sure about that fat head
Ry.the.Stunner
Why would he benefit from the DH spot? Yes, he’s been oft-injured at times, but he’s also a very good defensive OF.
brucewayne
So you would be paying $300 million for a DH? LoL! That’s insane.
iphiii
Stl is a great baseball town and Stanton would be treated like a king. If he wanted Matheny gone after his first year. Matheny does not put people in the seats but Stanton would.
If he is so materialistic that is is priority stl may not be his town.
For a man with the money he makes he could get a private jet and fly where ever he wants.
I always wondered what it would be like to make a million dollars a year to play a guy I love. The right city where the media leaves it’s stars alone, he would never pay for a meal, fans would dr love him just for coming, forgive him for anything ask Mc Gwire. He would be the tram leader and have Mo and Dewitts ear.
I guess it is his call and none of us would understand because in our wildest dreams we would not be able to talk about what Mr. Stanton is thinking.
I hope he is a Cardinal but I want him to want to be a Cardinal!
hoof hearted
Grammar and puncuation,
It will make more sense!
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Wow the self righteousness and general ignorance concerning certain aspects of this post is, I say interesting. Maybe just maybe his comfort level of being on a coast has more to do with other aspects than materialism. If you’ve lived on both coasts and in the Midwest you truly understand. The lifestyles are completely different. He would also would obtain so many of the privileges you mentioned from the extremely lax west coast media. He’s such a good guy and dynamic hitter he’d be loved essentially anywhere. So he’s earned the privilege to choose where he goes, and no I’m betting his decision will lie on more than just materialism.
kbarr888
70% of the residents of the USA live within 65 Miles of the Coast.
30% live within 5 miles of the Coast.
Hmmmmmm…….I guess he’s “Not The Only One”…….
Christian Larsen
Wonder what the Giants offered to MIA for Stanton. Arroyo, Duggar, etc.??
Paul_25
Probably with Heliot Ramos. Talk was they were asking about him. I hope we keep Tyler beede. Maybe they will make a 3 way deal so SF can shred some salary and get more prospects to give to Miami.
Solaris601
If Giants are willing to take on most or all of Stanton’s contract they won’t have to send much back to MIA in the way of talent, but to say SF would need to shed payroll elsewhere is the understatement of the year. Ideally they’d need to deal at least 2 of Pence, Span, Melancon, Belt, and Samarzdija. Requires creativity.
brucewayne
Why would Miami want those players like that with high contracts? They don’t! They want young cost-controlled guys with years! Especially pitching.
gilgunderson
Solaris is not necessarily saying the Giants would send those guys to the Marlins. They could make deals with other teams to cut their payroll in order to accommodate Stanton.
hoof hearted
So 1 offer is in? That is termed “flowing in”?
jints1
I agree with Boros’ views on the Marlins. They could be considered the 2nd best team in the NL East with that outfield, Justin Bour, Dee Gordon and Realmuto. Most of these guys are young. Why don’t the Marlins sell the young talent plus the new ownership and attempt to increase attendance. and performance? If they make some smart moves to acquire some young pitchers they could be a contender. If I was a Marlins fan, I’d be ticked to see all the above young talent disappear. Jeter has been a disaster so far.
casey
Jeter can suck at his job and still be a huge improvement over Loria.
hoof hearted
Lol
outinleftfield
@casey #truth
thegreatcerealfamine
Yea it seems like years since his group took over..wtf
InPolesWeTrust
Jeter is not going to like being the face of the marlins if they move Stanton. He’s used to everyone liking him. He can’t give everyone goodie bags like he did when he was killing it in boogie down Bronx!
Coast1
Derek Jeter knows what owners go through. He wanted to run a baseball team. I doubt he went into this with his eyes closed. He knows owners are loved when the teams wins and hated when teams lose. He has a long term plan that he believes will result in the team winning. Part of it is getting more revenue and part of that is a new TV deal in a few years.
Dave P
BoSox take on all of the 295 million…however Marlins take 35 million owed to Rusney Castillo…so what do the Marlins get?…they get an outfielder (.314/.350/.507/.857 at Pawtucket last year)…then they get 4 years of Eduardo Rodriguez…and then they get Sox 5th and 6th best prospects…pitchers Scherff and Shawaryn…take it or leave it…Stanton would not make more than 295M over 10 years if he was a Free Agent…
BoSoXaddict
I think the Sox taking on all 295 while the Marlins take Castillo makes sense in terms of resolving the salary issue, but I think Miami will want a bat like Chavis or Travis included in the player package….
hawkny11
Sox would give up Travis but will offer Bryce Brentz who hit 32 dingers in 2017. Miami will probably need at least two low cost OF’er’s to replace Stanton and whomever they also sell/trade to the highest bidder.
Jean Matrac
Asking the Marlins to take Castillo would be a deal-breaker. Miami wants to shed salary. They certainly don’t want to add back $35m and a 3 year commitment to a player without any value. What he did at Pawtucket is irrelevant. There are a myriad of players that hit at AAA, but not at MLB. Castillo needs to prove himself at the MLB level to earn back any value he might have had.
The Sox trading Rusney Castillo is about as likely as the Yankees trading Jacoby Ellsbury
Dave P
But Ellsbury is not Cuban…:)
Dave P
I believe most “experts” say that if Miami wants prospects…they will have to take back salary…I was just suggesting…if they have to take back salary…why not at least get a 4th outfielder…?
hawkny11
Not if the Red Sox throw in three annual payments of $5M to reduce Castillo’s salary by 50%.. They could get Castillo and Brentz for about $18M over 3 years. Maybe even Travis as a throw in… Castillo is no wall flower. Neither is Brentz. Nor, for that matter is Travis. It is just that neither is going to crack the Red Sox lineup with Benny, Bradley and Betts starting every day. It is time for them to move elsewhere and become good MLB OF’er’s.
PS. If the Yankees truly want to get rid of Ellsbury, he is a goner.
But they may have to sweeten the pot to free up his roster slot.. I can envision the Giants and/or Seattle going after him.
outinleftfield
I am pretty sure the Marlins would say leave it.
First look at what the Marlins are looking for most in trading Stanton. Salary relief in 2018 and 2019. Taking on Castillo’s salary defeats that purpose.
I am sure the Marlins would be willing to take on $35 million or more in Stanton’s contract, but not if he opts out. Only for the 7 years starting in 2021.
Stanton is owed $77 million for 2018-2020 which is a significant underpay for his level of performance, so asking the Marlins to pay $35 million for Castillo and then having Stanton opt out would be out of the question. That would mean the Red Sox only paid $42 million for 3 years of the best hitter in baseball at his peak. Not happening without much, much better pieces going to the Marlins.
Rodriguez would be a nice piece to the Marlins. In fact, the rest of your trade proposition is reasonable. Everything other than Castillo.
Add another good prospect to your list like Houck or Mata and the Marlins pay the Red Sox $5-7 million per season starting in 2021 if Stanton does not opt out and you would probably see that trade happen pretty quick.
Dave P
I stand corrected…I like your logic…that the Marlins would only pay if Stanton stays with the team that trades for him!!
gcc
1st most experts are saying that the marlins will have to eat salary to get back anything of value. So having Castillo in it to replace Stanton in the outfield does make sense.. seeing that they want to get under 90 million and are at about 97 million taking on the 11million of Castillo to drop the 25 million of Stanton will do it. Also as he isn’t on the 40 man roster Castillo’s contract right now doesn’t count against the sox so trading him doesn’t help anything on the sox side..
kbarr888
Projected payroll for the Marlins is almost $140 Million with salary increases and arbitration estimates. They have to shed about $50 Mil to get down to $90M. They may not get to exactly 90, but they’re trying to get close.
“The Plan” that’s they’ve talked about is shedding the salaries of Stanton (25M), Prado (13.5M), Gordon (10.3M) and Zeigler (9M). That’s $58 Million, minus “what they’ll have to kick in on those deals to get them done”.
Taking on Castillo’s salary just doesn’t fit into that plan. I’m on the train that says……. “If they want Top Prospects back, they’ll have to eat some of Stanton’s contract, but it will be AFTER the Opt-Out. If he doesn’t stay…..there’s no salary relief.
Pax vobiscum
The years, the injury history and the money wreak of disaster.
rycm131
Stanton is going to the Brew Crew!
mack22 2
You a Betting man?
kbarr888
Did they move Milwaukee to the Coast???……LOL
jk……but I haven’t even heard a rumor from a Brewer’s writer about that yet!
GarryHarris
I don’t know where Giancarlo Stanton and Scott Boros get their opinion that all teams have plenty of money. The Detroit Tigers, for one, lost tens of millions due to all those crazy contracts to just a few players. Its not just the MLB team, the entire organization is vast, from the major and minor league, high school, college and international scouts, all the travel expenses, building and maintenance of stadiums the list is endless of all that have to be paid. So, paying one person more than the profits of a large corporation is short sited.
RedFeather
Giants – Have no trade chips – Pitcher friendly park – bye bye MadBum
Red Sox- Have the GM to make a trade yet should learn from past experiences (See Tigers). New Marlins owner is a Yankee God.
Cardinals- Have the payroll and trade chips but don’t have the coconuts to enter a bid war (unless new GM is ready to make a splash)
Phillies – Rebuilding- Lacking a winning team in the next 3 years (when Stanton can opt out)
Angles – Seriously? Already took on bad contracts and Trout will need to get paid (again) at some point. Better start saving.
Yankees – They have a poor mans Stanton in Judge (which he will need to get paid) and the L Tax- NOPE.
kbarr888
RedFeather…….Are you suggesting that he’s going to stay in Miami?……or that there’s a West Coast Team that will actually go after him……One that “He Will Say YES To”…..???
RedFeather
No my point was each team mentioned in this rumor all have there roadblocks for making this trade.
Improbable88
Did you leave the Dodgers out by accident? Dodgers: In position to win now; Have payroll flexibility and experience moving $$ and bad contracts; Have a good farm system; location, location, location;
corey5kersh22
Also the team he grew up rooting for and the team he said “I wouldn’t mind going to”
hawkny11
Right now, the Dodgers do not have a DH slot. Boston does. Based on his previous remarks Stanton is intrigued by the American League’s DH rule. Towards the back end of his contract he may be very happy to be the DH of the team he plays for. It could extend his career into his 40’s..
RedFeather
No but they really don’t need him unless they want to move Bellinger – I think the only reason the Dodger are mentioned is due to his connect with LA. Haven’t read a thing about the Dodgers considering a trade.
Ry.the.Stunner
They don’t need to move Bellinger. Gonzalez is on his way out, Bellinger plays 1B, which is where he played most of last year.
RedFeather
Im guess if they want Stanton they will need to give the Marlins a great piece like Bellinger – They will have to figure out a way to trip down that contract and it could take Bellinger to do so. They can’t afford to take on his full contract in LA
BlueSkyLA
Chance < 0. Anyone who would even suggest a thing has no idea.
mrnatewalter
I’m confused, are you suggesting the Giants have to trade MadBum for Stanton? Or that they can’t afford him if they sign Stanton?
Both are horrendously silly proposals.
The first is bad, because if it takes MadBum, then no one has the pieces to land Stanton, and certainly not St. Louis, who doesn’t have anyone like MadBum (unless they trade Carlos Martinez).
The second is bad, because the Giants have money coming off the books in the next few years. They can afford Bumgarner if they want.
RedFeather
They need to clear space to take on Stanton and Madbums future contract and those two player along would cost close to 55-60 million per year combined.
mrnatewalter
They’ll likely clear some salary this offseason, possibly Samardzija or Cueto? That’ll put them in a spot where they can more than afford both those players.
oebrr00
Boras and such, this is how teams go from making money to losing money and then losing lots of games. By taking on a contract like this. Ask the Angels about Albert and Hamilton even with Trout.
xtraflamy
hey mlbtr – today I getting annoying pop ups on the app. pixel.cdnwidget.com.
any way to make that stop?
Improbable88
After Stanton played 159 games this season and considering how many injuries of his were fluke, he isn’t an injury prone player. Unless breaking his hand swinging, then missing half a season because of it is expected to continue into his 30’s. Should the Marlins throw in the $10 mil for his buyout and $25 mil for the last year of his contract or take on a short term bad contract, then they start getting a package without eating too much $$ imo. Just to have an MVP in his prime is worth a teams top prospect.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Normally, whenever Boras does some smarmy and self serving thing people defend it as both his right and his job to look out for the best interests of his clients.
Reducing payroll is the team’s right as management’s job is to look out for the best interests of the franchise.
Thronson5
I’d like to see Stanton come back to where he’s from…LA. Let his family watch him end his career here at home.
Dock_Elvis
I’ll never quite understand Boras’s case that because teams have money they are required to spend it. It might not be logical and intelligent baseball operation sense to do so. If you have an aging team, and need to rebuild with young quality players…those young players will plainly lower payroll. That’s not a team’s fault….that’s the collective bargaining agreement at work.
mrnatewalter
Boras represents players. The more teams that rebuild equals the less possible jobs available for his players (or any players, for that matter).
And all the money that doesn’t go to the players stays in the owners’ pockets. There’s certainly a strategy to rebuilding, obviously, but you can see why agents and maybe even the players union would frown upon what the Marlins are doing, I’d hope.
leftyspecialist
Yiiiikes. “The entire city of Boston is racist.” That works too, right?
Calm down on the over-generalizations. Take a breath and point the rage elsewhere.
hawkny11
Ask Poppy if Boston is racist towards its sports stars.! If you want to know where racism prevails look at the red states on any political map of the USA. Besides Giancarlo Michael Cruz Stanton barely qualifies as a Latino ball player. His mother, who is 1/4 Puerto Rican calls him “Cruz”. While his father who is of Irish descent calls him Mike or Mikey. Until 2013 Stanton went by “Mike” presumably because it was his given name. Switching to Giancarlo was a public relations move to endear him to many Latino sports fans who live in the Miami area.. I doubt very much that he speaks Spanish with any command of the language…. if at all..
PeterDipersio
Well if Stanton wants to live on the coast there is no better place than cape cod!
sandman12
Jeter’s Solution
By author Lee Stone
Mired with $400 million in debt and a payroll that promises to add to it, new Marlin ownership is faced with a problem. With a MLB-leading profit of $88 million last season and a miniscule payroll heading into the 2018 season, the Philadelphia Phillies hold the answer. One trade. Roster for roster. Flip those teams. Everyone wins.
Everyone wins.
Why would Philadelphia take on a Marlin roster that won only 77 games last season and is projected to cost $140 million in 2018? Let’s count the reasons. 1) The 2017 Marlins scored a lot more runs than the Phillies and feature no less than six potential All Stars for 2018 – the entire OF plus Gordon, Realmuto and Bour. 2) With Giancarlo on board, Philadelphia home attendance increases by what? A million? Phanatics will fall in love with Dee Gordon and Ozuna too. 3) Ziegler, Tazawa, and Volquez come off the books (about $25 million) after the 2018 season. 4) Added inducements. The Phils are allowed to keep treasured starter Aaron Nola and get $20 million from Miami so they can add to their pitching staff. The end result is immediate contention for the Phillies and an unprecedented surge of interest in the team.
Why for Miami? Ownership doesn’t have the resources to keep the existing roster together. With a single stroke, Jeter will have a younger team, new heroes for the Marlin fans. Unprecedented publicity. The team operates in the black from day one. Jeter has a core to build on instead of one that must be torn down.
Everyone wins.
dugdog83
Get real.
fighterflea
to the Giants: Stanton. 2B Dee Gordon, C Cameron Rupp and 3B Maikel Franco
to the Marlins: 2B Joe Panik P Matt Moore P P Hunter Strickland OF Bryan Reynolds P Ricardo Pinto
to the Phillies: P Jeff Samardzija P Brad Ziegler P Andrew Suarez
Not a huge return for the Marlins but they trim a lot of salary and can play in the free agent market.
Giants stay under the luxury tax threshold.
Phils get through trade as good an arm as they’re likely to ink in free agency.
connorreed
Why are the Phillies involved in this potential trade at all? How does trading away Maikel Franco, a young pitcher, and Rupp for a 38 year old reliever and a 33 year old starter (in an expensive three year contract) help them? Franco could very well be a key part of this team in a few years when they’re likely contending. Melancon and Samardzija won’t be. The only benefit from getting those two is that the they might be a 70-92 team instead of a 66-96 team.
Why would the Marlins even include Dee Gordon when they could easily get a more valuable package than that by trading just him?
Why is Jeff Samardzija going to a team on his no-trade list when he explicitly told the Phillies he would not waive a trade to one of those teams?
And why are the Giants getting away with highway robbery? The reigning MVP, one of the top second basemen in the game, and a solid backup catcher just entering arbitration for an inferior second baseman, a reliever, two bad contracts, and two pretty insignificant prospects?
fighterflea
1. No one said anything about Melancon.
2. Phils won’t find/sign better than Samardzija (if he will waive his NTC). Don’t look at his age, look at his durability.
3. Samardjiza is not cheap but free agents aren’t either and who would they sign for 3 years?
4. Panik/Gordon is a good move for a team shedding salary. Look at career OPS where Panik has a big advantage. Even Gordon’s agt. wouldn’t back you up in your comparison and everyone knows the current 2B market is soft for Gordon or anyone.
5. Franco is part of a logjam whose future playing time is not guaranteed.
6. Phils would be lucky to find a home for Rupp whose game, like Franco’s, has regressed.
7. If you’re paying attention, the Phils signed 40 year old Joaquin Benoit last off-season so Ziegler is no/no issue.
8. I assume you’re lumping Matt Moore in there with “bad contracts”. I don’t agree.
9. Stanton’s is a bad contract for any team acquiring him unless he waives his 2020 opt out. SF has a shot at being that team.
Nine is enough for baseball.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Samardzija is in the bottom 5 of worst pitchers in baseball. Phillies could easily find better and cheaper.
connorreed
Apologies if my original comment seemed too arrogant/argumentative. Your proposal was FAR less absurd than most on here.
But some counterpoints…
1. Not Melancon, Zeigler. My bad.
2. You’re missing the point I’m trying to make – Samardzija would make the team better, and the free agent market for starters isn’t great – but WHY would the Phillies give up those players to get him? The Phillies were 68-96 in 2017. They are not planning on contending next season. They’re going to be looking at their roster and determining who is and who isn’t apart of the future. They have a glut of young starters – Nola, Pivetta, Eickhoff, Lively, Velasquez, Leiter, Eflin, Thompson – with another five or so solid prospects that are on the cusp of the majors – that they’ll need to manage for the rotation as it is.
3. It’s not sign a free agent or acquire Samardzija. There’s another option – don’t sign/acquire an unnecessary pitcher on an expensive contract this offseason.
4. Panik does have a better OPS, but it’s pretty difficult to argue that as a 2B, that 58 point OPS advantage outweighs Gordon’s far superior base running and defense. Correct on the 2B market, but still, he adds quite a bit of value to the trade.
5. What logjam? Hernandez, Crawford, and Galvis? All are middle infielders that can also play third. Hernandez can also play the outfield, and Franco can also play first. His playing time may not be guaranteed – nobody’s is, really – but can’t the Phillies afford to wait a little and see if he can figure it out before giving up and shipping him off for a player they don’t need right now? He’s only 25, and he had a poor year, but in his rookie year he had an .860 OPS, and even last year – as a .255 hitter with 25 HR – was not bad for a 23 year old.
6. Rupp has had three straight years with 1.0+ WAR. He’s not that terrible defensively, and you won’t find many backup catchers consistently posting an OPS over .700. It might be tough to find a trade simply because he’s a backup catcher, but they have no need to get rid of him.
7. He was 39 when they signed him (not that it matters), and it wasn’t because they were trying to field a contending team. They most likely signed him in the hope that he could perform well enough to garner trade interest, or at least add depth if they had decided to shop another reliever (Gomez, Neris, etc). Trading players in order to acquire Zeigler kind of defeats the purpose.
8. I was, and it’s not a terrible contract, but teams can find cheaper options that will probably deliver similar results. Two of his last three seasons featured an ERA over 5.00 and a WHIP over 1.50. I don’t see him returning to 2011 Matt Moore next season.
9. It’s not a great contract, but he’s still the reigning MVP, and he’s still only 28. His contract takes him to 37 (not including the team option). Barring any catastrophic injury, the gap between his payout compared to his production will probably be far closer than some other awful contracts we’ve seen. The pay isn’t outrageous, either (at its highest, $32 mil, which, by 2023, will probably be beaten out by a number of players).
fighterflea
Help me out here; in addition to Samardjiza, how many pitchers in all of MLB have logged over 200 innings a season over each of the last 5 years? (worst 5 pitchers in baseball, clueless)
fighterflea
I won’t go through point by point again but in the big picture, the Phils hope to be players in the 2018 free agent market and have to show in the meantime they will spend money on putting a winner on the field.
While they might add a left-handed power bat on a short term deal, the consensus need is strengthened starting pitching. (The Phils ALWAYS sign or acquire a starting pitcher in the off-season.) The glut of young pitchers you mentioned won’t (and shouldn’t) prevent that from happening. In terms of starting pitchers they can rely on, the Phils are notably thin and there is no one whose judgment I respect who would say otherwise. Improved pitching is their greatest off-season need.
The Phils may choose to go with Neris as a closer but can be relied on to do what they always do and add one or more late inning relievers.
I hope the Phils go all in on Manny Machado in free agency. Having Franco around probably makes them less likely to go all in. I can bear parting with Franco who is out of shape and has bat hitting instincts when he is ahead in the count — a time when good hitters thrive. Rupp is a poor hitting, poor pitch framing, average fielding catcher which makes him a poor complement to either Alfaro or Knapp.
ripperlv
If Stanton were hourly, he’ be like $13,294/hour. Nice gig!
dtstlou66
I always enjoy listening to Scott Boras get on his soap box and show such concern for the Marlins trying to cut payroll. We don’t want to see his commissions decline and have to cut back on his summer home landscaping service. Give it a rest Scott.
cardsfan23 2
I think if this drags on to long St Louis and others will drop out the rule 5 draft is coming up and St Louis and the others have other needs to address I think St Louis makes one final offer soon and if nothing happens they move onto other players
Cardinals17
Package deal!!!!! Stanton and all of his salary and contract as is! (He’ll opt out anyway), Dee Gordon,
Cardinals17
They cut me off— Ha! —
That’s Stanton, Dee Gordon, Yelich to the Cardinals. Grichuk, Carson Kelly (Cards now have a better and younger catcher in the minors), Piscoty, Flanery, Wong, Cecil
cardsfan23 2
If the Cardinals don’t get Stanton and Yelich becomes available they will go for Yelich even if they have to absorb a bad deal to get him
MahatmaGagne
I agree, once Stanton gets traded and its not the Cardinals I think the Marlins jump on St. Louis offer for Yelich and get the pitching. St. Louis should want Ozuna more than Yelich
mlb fan
@Cardsfan….Yelich is a good all around player, but personally I would like to see them get a bit more sock and pop in a player such as JD, Martinez or perhaps Jose Abreu, …..and also since the Orioles already have an everyday first baseman in Chris Davis, why not contact the Orioles and see what Mark Trumbo would cost?
connorreed
Yelich has averaged .290/.373/.460 with 20 HR, 90 RBI, 12 SB, and quality defense of the past two seasons. He’s just 25 and is locked into an extremely team friendly contract.
Dee Gordon produces a 3.0-5.0 WAR a year and is also locked into an extremely team friendly contract.
That’s not nearly enough to get those two, plus the reigning MVP (despite his lengthy contract).
And what do you mean “the cards now have a better and younger catcher in the minors”? Who are you talking about that’s better than Kelly? Joshua Lopez, Andrew Knizer, Ivan Herrera? In any case, none of them are. Kelly is an easy Top 50 Prospect and along with Francisco Mejia one of the two best catching prospects in baseball.
sandman12
How Phillies Contend in 2018
By Lee Stone, Author of “Once Upon a Tee Time”
They trade 40-man rosters with the Marlins. What do they get? The best OF in baseball, an All Star second baseman, the best young catcher in the game, and a slugging first baseman that is soaring. What does it cost? An affordable $140M payroll, which becomes especially palatable with the seats full for every home game.
In my proposal, Marlins new ownership adds sprinkles and whipped cream as added inducements. Keep Nola to go along with starters Straily and Urena. Keep your closer. Not enough? Here’s $20M to shop for more starting pitching. How do you not contend?
Why for the Marlins? It gives an ambitious, confident, and cash-strapped new owner the ability to build from the ground up. Instant profitability. A young nucleus.
The more you think about this, the more sense it makes. Everyone wins