The market for Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton has been stagnant for a few days now. That could change at any moment, if Stanton green-lights one of the deal structures currently in place. And we’ve heard there’s some anticipation of some kind of resolution by the end of the week. But the longer things drag out, the more time and space there is for the existing top suitors to waver — and, perhaps, for others to enter the picture more clearly. It’s still not evident how this will all turn out, but there are some hints that the situation is not necessarily nearing resolution:
- Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic offers an updated look at the market in a subscription piece, with some interesting tweaks on what has become the status quo. It’s well worth a full read. There seems to be a split of opinion among Rosenthal’s sources as to just where things stand with regard to the Giants and Cardinals, with some saying Stanton is disinclined to approve a trade to either organization and others insisting his “thinking is fluid.” Regardless, those two clubs likely won’t linger around waiting forever, particularly if they come to believe they aren’t going to be able to convince the star to approve a deal. Should that come to pass, says Rosenthal, the Fish will be in a tough spot. If there’s a way out (beyond hoping Stanton says yes to one of the existing suitors), it may come from engaging both the Dodgers and — yes — the Yankees, each of whom Rosenthal says are still “on the periphery.” And Rosenthal adds that Stanton is open to a move to the Bronx. Of course, both of those mega-market clubs are in the process of reining in long-burdened balance sheets; Rosenthal writes that Miami would need to hang onto some significant cash (or take on pricey veterans in return) to get something done and perhaps entice real prospect value.
- Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio hears similarly to Rosenthal regarding the Los Angeles and New York organizations (via Twitter). And his colleague Craig Mish even suggests (links to Twitter) that Stanton has now given the Marlins more clarity than had previously been known, with a list of four teams to which he’d approve a deal. The Astros and Cubs — neither of whom have been linked substantially to Stanton — are said to be on this list along with the Dodgers and Yankees. While the Giants and Cardinals are not on this “preferred list,” as Mish terms it, Stanton was at least willing to hear their pitches. Ultimately, this leaves it unknown whether Stanton has been swayed in his initial thinking and does not really conflict with prior reporting that has indicated Stanton would maintain an open mind entering the process.
- Jon Heyman of Fan Rag painted at least a somewhat different picture earlier today, writing that the Dodgers are a “long shot” for Stanton if a move is to happen in the near future, as their limited engagement to date would leave them with quite a bit of work to do to sort out an agreement. With some indication that Stanton could make some kind of decision on interest from the Giants and Cardinals by the end of the week, it does not seem as if the Dodgers are likely to swoop in — but, perhaps, could still enter the picture if Stanton declines to go to San Francisco or St. Louis. It’s worth noting, too, that Heyman recently broached the topic of the Yankees’ ongoing interest in Stanton.
- Speaking of the Giants’ interest in Stanton, Heyman writes that chief executive officer Larry Baer was among those to meet with the reigning MLB home run king. The CEO was previously reported to have met with Ohtani, too, so he’s clearly getting involved personally in these highly significant decisions for the organization. Baer “loves” the reigning NL MVP, according to Heyman, who adds that a free-agent pursuit of J.D. Martinez is viewed as the Giants’ primary alternative to Stanton.
yanks02026
Make the move cashman
walls17
at this point why not? im sick of hearing nonsense about this every day and i want this to be over with
rememberthecoop
Amen.
bradthebluefish
Ditto
thesheriffisnear
No one is forcing you to read or listen to any of this “nonsense”. You can simply just stop reading it if it bothers you that much.
jekporkins
He obviously does not want to be a Card or a Giant. I say to both teams take the high road, pull your offers and move on. As a Giants fan we can pick up Martinez and Frazier and not look back.
exposjays
Would make Boone an instant winner
dlevin111
Yes Cashman make the move for Stanton and JD Martinez.
chound
I’m no fan of the Yankees but this is what I’ve been hoping for… Like I’ve said before, it would be an incredible story line for baseball.
pryanadidas86
I can’t see the Yankees actually making a move for Stanton. Stanton basically named 4 teams he’s is willing to go to, but only the Dodgers are a real possibility.
Gret1wg
Let him sit in Miami, catering to one plyr, however talented, doesn’t work. Not unless he can pitch the ball and run out & make the play. Agents/superstars have killed pro sports, enjoy last place, Giancarlo Juice Boy!
baumann
No.
Chun
300 million reasons Hell no!!
walls17
He’s never gonna get traded. This man needs to suck it up and accept the “harsh” reality of playing in San Francisco. I’m sure he’s really going to hate playing in one of the best cities in the country for a historic franchise. Oh the horror.
gatewaytothebest
Your right! He will love playing for the Cards for the next 10 years!!
casax73
Ain’t gonna happen.
Dodgethis
You’re* And St. Louis is a craphole. There is a reason they have never signed a real free agent.
Vedder80
You might want to take a hard look at history and revise your statement.
cygnus2112
Yes, because when I think of Xanadu, the first locations that conjure up that image is locales like Compton, Hawthorne, Watts, East LA, etc. A regular old panacea I tell you!
GTFOH
Schroeder
You are just comparing the Cardinals to the Dodgers, who throw insane contracts around to any/all free agent or trade for bad contracts on a regular basis
brucewayne
When was the last time the Dodgers won the series? How many years? 29 ?
roberty
One of the best cities in the country if you make $20 million a year.
Ully
Well he does make over 20 million a year, so….
CubsFanForLife
I heard $20 million a year will get you a one bedroom apartment in the bay area. Not sure if it was a double.
gneedoba
20 mil a year don’t get you invited to the rich kid parties there
CubsFanForLife
Stanton will get traded, you’re just sick of hearing these rumors – and that’s okay.
Codybellingersgrandma
What’s so great about living in San fransisco and playing for the last place giants? Might as well live in Miami on the beach. The Giants are just as historic as pretty much every other team that’s been around more than 50 years
casax73
Hater!
Paul_25
When your one of the first franchises in baseball. Also have most wins in the history over 11,000 and most hall of famers in NL. Yes the New York/San Francisco Giants are one of the most storied franchises in baseball. Cards are 1 year older and have more WS. But less overall wins and less HOFs. Both very storied and historic clubs. Both were born 20 years before the Yankees.
gocincy
This conveniently glosses over the fact that the Giants went 56 years between championships. The latter half of the twentieth century was decidedly mediocre. The Cards and Yanks, as much as I hate them, don’t have droughts of this magnitude. Don’t get me wrong – the Giants are a great franchise today with a recent history second to none and a great ballpark.
kbarr888
You guys are stuck on The History Thing. Frankly……Who Cares.
Stanton said that he’s “tired of losing, and tired of the negativity”.
He’s a So Cal, warm weather kid. Why would he care “which team has been around the longest? Or who had more Wins before 1960? I doubt that comes into play. He probably loves the warm weather and loves the Beach Life. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some of us choose to NOT deal with winter weather. So Be it.
Like most players…..Stanton wants to Win a Ring. He loves the Dodgers, because they were His Dream Team growing up. He’s stalling….hoping they’ll “figure something out”. If that’s going to happen, Miami is going to HAVE to Be WILLING to take on Kazmir’s contract for 1 year, and accept a less exciting package of prospects. No Alvarez, No Verdugo, No Buehler.
I’ve said before…..Maybe Toles, White, and D.J. Peters gets it done?
I think the Dodgers want to keep Puig for right now…..he showed signs of producing in ’17, but is a FA after ’18.
Or maybe the Marlins have to take on the Puig & Kazmir contracts…. plus White & Peters?
Who knows. Fact is….I think we’ll be waiting a while for this to end. I think SF & StL both go to “Plan B”…..because “time is getting short”….and those Other Players are going to sign somewhere pretty soon.
brucewayne
I’ll still take the WS trophies over any of that other stuff! Any day!
ray_derek
He doesn’t need to accept anything, he holds all the cards, it’s called a no trade clause.
Bank On It
Miami will be the one that ends up SOL because Giants and Cards won’t wait around forever
AGAVE
X2
matt41265
I beg to differ
Jean Matrac
“I beg to differ”
Beg all you want, but teams have holes to fill, and will move on if they have to. If JDM is the Cards or Giant’s Plan B, they can’t risk seeing him sign with someone else while they’re waiting for Stanton. They can’t afford to wait and risk losing out. They aren’t going to sit by the phone hoping they get Giancarlo, because if they don’t, they don’t want to miss out on JDM, or LoCain, or someone else as well.
mrnatewalter
Lorenzo Cain isn’t happening for the Giants. They won’t risk missing that high pick in the second round.
Jean Matrac
Yeah, you’re right, but the point is the same, even if it’s not Cain. The Giants have holes that need to be filled. They will move on to other options if Stanton drags his feet too long. They have to.
kiermaier
Well Stanton you have a choice accept a trade to the Cardinals or Giants or stay with the Marlins while they rebuild..
matthew102402
Oh. My. God.
JoeyPankake
Giants should just turn their attention to McCutchen, Cain, and Frazier or something like that. As a fan I’m over it at this point.
walls17
they should just focus on rebuilding, which is what they really need to do
mrnatewalter
I should focus on acquiring Berkshire Hathaway for $9.
Since neither is happening, why waste our time discussing it?
JoeyPankake
I’ve been saying the same thing since the all star break, but they seem to want to take another run with Posey/Bum/Cueto/Crawford etc. They don’t have much outside of Bumgarner that they could get a haul for anyway.
Jean Matrac
The Giants have a chance to land both Stanton and Ohtani. Just one of the 2 will increase their odds of contending in 2018 and beyond. Had they started a rebuild, like a lot of people were saying they should, neither Stanton, nor Ohtani, would be that interested in joining the Giants. If they do land both, it’s a good thing they didn’t start a rebuild.
Codybellingersgrandma
Doesn’t sound like Stanton is too interested or it would be done by now
Jean Matrac
No way you know that. It’s a big decision for the guy, and he’s being deliberate. He’s got a few days to do that. Once he realizes that his choices are SF, StL, or stay in Miami, he just might choose SF.
agentx
I’m not suggesting a collaboration between the camps, yet I have to figure agents for Stanton and Ohtani may have been trying to figure out what each other is doing about their respective SF offers.
Either one chooses SF, and the Giants’ chance of acquiring both increases dramatically, in my opinion.
teufelshunde4
Mariners are getting Ohtani.
brucewayne
They won’t get either one! LoL
casax73
I’m with you.
hojostache
One of those is not like the other….Frazier’s #’s are very underwhelming for 3B, I wouldn’t consider him an upgrade bc it’ll cost a multi-year deal.
Joe Kerr
Not an upgrade over Sandoval? Are you nuts? I’m assuming you are looking at his batting average and if so, stop, just stop.
daksworld
I’m as much of an advocate for looking past BA, but honestly, it’s gotten to the point where he’s got to hike it up. .213 is atrocious. If he hit 35+ homers paired with his 2017 walk rate, then yeah, that’s very good, but he only hit 27 homers in a year where the HR was as common as ever.
cardsfan23 2
I think if the Cardinals are out on Stanton they immediately pivot to Yelich or Ozuna and try to get a deal done quickly since they’ve already been talking to the Marlins and the Marlins already know what St Louis has to offer in mlb ready talent and prospects
hojostache
I love the idea, but the Marlins want cheap and controllable players, so it’d take a haul for them to move either guy. STL is a very well run org, so i’d Expect them to at least try.
CardsNation5
The Yankees nor the Dodgers will trade for him. So make up your mind Stanton, cause I’m my opinion, the Cardinals and Giants will move on by the start of the Winter Meetings
greatdaysports
Jim Bowden = braindead. He had stunk up XM mlb radio for years.
He ranks right there with The guessing and wishing Peter Gammons.
Joe Kerr
Don’t you dare compare Bowden to the great Peter Gammons!
koz16
I must be the only Yankee fan that does NOT want Stanton on the team. He’s going to cost too much in terms of both prospects and salary. And looking at the way he swings the bat once he starts hitting his mid 30’s I see a lot of long outs instead of HR’s. Right now he can easily muscle the ball out of the ballpark even though his swing style is to wrap the bat around his mid section. If he doesn’t evolve as a hitter and get better extension with his swing once his power starts getting sapped with age the HR’s will drop off. Oler guys that continued to hit HR’s have all had a better bat path than Stanton has right now.
yankees25
I’d rather spend the money on Machado next year considering the need at 3rd
Benklasner
Not really a need with Gleyber eventually shifting there.
MB923
He has to pan out first. Many top prospects can become busts.
Begamin
I do think it would cost too much as well. Im not even sure where hed fit in the field. I would have to see all possible scenarios of obtaining Stanton before i think its a good idea.
timm-2
You’re not the only one. I love Stanton and I’d love to get him on the team because it would be fun to watch that lineup. There are too many problems to make it realistic.
1. How can they stay under the $197m threshold and make the deal? The only path I see is trading Ellsbury which will be impossible to do.
2. Where does he play? LF with Gardy in CF? DH? What happens to Hicks? And Frazier? There is still Ellsbury taking up roster space.
3. Who do we give up? They’ve really sold me on these kids and truth be told watching these baby bombers is so damned fun I can’t wait to see the Gleybor, Adams, Sheffield, and these other kids I keep hearing about.
As far as Machado is concerned. I do see them going after him hard next offseason. Gleybor may play third this year but eventually I see him taking Castro’s job making Machado at third a real possibility.
hojostache
You may be safe bc the front office has been much smarter about (re)building the roster and farm. If they truly believe they can get Harper/Machado…I can see them taking a pass.
I just hate that the rich could get richer, with stanton’s Preferred teams being: LAD, NYY, HOU, or CHC.
VABlitz
I have the same opinions as you. Not to mention, that last year was indeed a monster year for him, but I don’t see him repeating it more than once. He will be back to his pre-2017 averages. I want the youth movement to continue in the Bronx and do not want to be tied down to another Arod-like contract. I was against that signing as well.
zacadad
How the Dodgers haven’t offered Puig, Grandal, and whatever else it takes is ridiculous. They need a big bat to go with Bellinger- the rest of the lineup is made up of guys that hit 20 homers and drive in 70 runs in a good year. A better offense and they don’t need to rely on the bullpen so much.
angels fan 3
Mattingly doesn’t want anything to do with puig
fox471 Dave
Of course. Talk of Puig to Marlins is ridiculous. Mattingly would not spit on Puig if he caught fire in front of him.
vtadave
Why would the rebuilding Marlins want two guys who are free agents after 2018?
WalkersDayOff
Why would they trade Puig? Marlins want to dump salary. Dodgers can get them what they want and keep Yasiel
casax73
You’re dumb
vtadave
How was that a dumb comment?
Jean Matrac
It’s not about who the Dodger’s offer, it’s about how much salary the Marlins can shed. The Marlins aren’t eating much more than $5m per season, and probably not for more than 5 years.
The Dodgers have paid $113.5m in luxury tax through 2016. They’re going to take another hit of about a $30m for 2017. They’re in the 50% bracket for being more than 4 straight years over the the threshold. They would like to get under the threshold so the percentage resets.
The addition of Stanton’s salary would prevent that. The salary implications are why they’ve been less active in the trade discussions than others, not because they don’t want to trade certain guys.
NicTaylor
Oh the agony of Stanton rumors everyday… just make up your mind so the rest of baseball will friggin do something already. Most boring offseason in what, 25 years now?
Solaris601
Hats off to Jerry DiPoto who is wheelin’ and dealin’ like there’s no tomorrow while the rest of the league waits for Stanton and Ohtani to land.
Houston We Have A Solution
If the Marlins really want Stanton to waive his no trade clause they should just fire sale next week.
Trade Bour, Realmuto, Yelich, and Ozuna, already traded Gordon.
He’s already said he doesn’t want to play for a losing team. Sell everything else, approach him and say look these are the deals that benefit us from contenders. It’s either pick one of them or help us win maybe 60 games. Your choice Stanton.
casax73
I agree
Houston We Have A Solution
It’s not like nobody wants these players. And its not like they couldnt stack themselves in the process. They could easily get deals like.
Cardinals get Yelich and a reliever like Steckenreider
Marlins get Kelly, Bader, Hudson, Jones, Sierra (2 immediate starters)
Rockies get Realmuto
Marlins get Pint, McMahon, Vilade, and Nevin
Rays get Bour
Marlins get Yarbrough and Taylor
Cubs get Ozuna
Marlins get Happ, Almora Jr, De la cruz, Alzolay, Lange
(Probably not the best ozuna deal they could get, but you get the idea).
outinleftfield
I really liked your premise that the Marlins keep Stanton and move enough other players to get to $90 million in payroll, but wanted to make a few tweaks. The Marlins have about $120 million in payroll for 2018 including estimated arbitration cases after trading Gordon.
The Marlins players 2018 salary in ( ).
Angels get Prado ($13.5mm), Zeigler ($9mm), the $740k balance of the Marlins IFA pool, and $10 million in 2019.
Marlins get Smith, who won’t pitch in 2018, Paredes and Soriano
Cardinals get Ozuna ($10.9)mm and a reliever like Steckenrider
Marlins get Alcantara, Kelly, Bader or Sierra, Hudson or Jones, and a lottery ticket prospect
Orioles get Straily ($4.6mm)
Marlins get Scott and Dietz
That would shave $38 million off the Marlins payroll in 2018
At that point, Stanton probably agrees to a trade to SF or ST this offseason. If he doesn’t, the Marlins can either revisit trading him Mid-2018 or next offseason or just allow him to opt out after 2020.
If necessary to hasten the rebuild they could also trade these guys that have 3-5 years of team control
Rockies get Realmuto ($4.2mm)
Marlins get Pint, Vilade or Nevin, and Diaz
Cubs get Yelich ($7MM)
Marlins get Happ, De la Cruz or Alzolay, Carotini, and a lottery ticket like Moreno
Indians get Bour ($3.5mm)
Marlins get Bieber or Civale and a lottery ticket like Gonzalez
imametsfanbut
Love it
ray_derek
The Cubs better not deal Alzolay.
Voice of Reason
Alzolay? He’s not even a top 100 prospect.
ray_derek
Alzolay is probably the most valuable asset in the Cubs farm.
vtadave
That’s not saying much.
brucewayne
You are way overvaluing the players from Miami! Way too much!
KenJorB
I ageee too. He’s now put the Marlins between a rock and a hard place. There is no way the Marlins will never get the salary relief and prospects they were going to get from the Giants and Cardinals. By the time Stanton comes to his senses, it will too late because they will have moved on from Stanton. Hope he’s happy on the minor league Marlins.
Jean Matrac
You make sound so easy. I’m sure the Marlins would love to light a fire under Stanton, but they want to maximize the return on all these assets, and that takes time. It would be stupid of them to give guys away simply to force Stanton to make a decision. This is a rebuild not a lard sale.
outinleftfield
Does the trade returns he mentioned seem like giving guys away?
Jean Matrac
Well no, but his 2 posts are somewhat contradictory. I was responding to the 1st post, and the 2nd was posted as I was replying. It will take some time for the kind of returns he’s talking about. It takes some time to hammer out getting maximum value. They aren’t trades that are the result of “Stanton’s taking too long to decide, so quick lets trade all these guys”.
outinleftfield
His first post didn’t sound like he was proposing giving away any players. Fire sale does not mean you are giving away players, it just means you are moving everything of value.
The Marlins don’t have to move everyone to achieve their 2018 payroll target. Just 4 more would do it. Prado, Zeigler, Straily, and Ozuna.
Ski to Coors
Bridich seems to have a “do not trade” list of prospects and I can assure you Brendan Rodgers and Riley Pint are the first names on the list. I suspect Ryan McMahon is there as well, and they want to get him 300-400 ABs in 2018. For Realmuto, I think Rockies might offer to take Ziegler and offer 3 of Sam Howard, Garrett Hampson, Tyler Nevin, Brian Mundell, and Sam Hilliard. Possibly just 2 of them (Hampson/Howard) and a few rk/low A guys (not Vilade). Deal wouldn’t happen til Lucroy signed with another team.
Mikel Grady
It’s not his choice. Jeter and cheapskate ownership is trying to force him to leave. If your employer came to you today and said you have to leave here and move family to another employer and state wouldn’t you take your time ? So when Stanton picks a team and marlins say no , you going to blame him too?
formerlyz
Good news. He’s staying. Now trade Ozuna, Bour, Straily, eat 6-8 million on Prado, and half of Ziegler and that gets them down to the payroll area they were talking about
casax73
We’ll see soon enough.
greatdaysports
Then what do you have? Poor Marlins fans. Crapped on again by bad owners.
formerlyz
Stanton, Yelich, Realmuto, some young arms, not particularly great, but potentially useful, improved organizational talent, improved flexibility moving forward, 3 years of Stanton to figure it out, or potentially better leverage for a deal later, a new tv contract coming up soon
kbarr888
formerlyz
You didn’t list the returns for those traded players…..so greatday is missing a few pieces of the puzzle.
I’d switch out Bour for Tazawa…..Bour is cheap and building value (although he’s no kid anymore). If he brings back a #4-5 pitcher….great!
If the Cards traded for Ozuna, I’d bet they’d give up Alcantara or Flaherty to get him. There’s your replacement for Straily. Prado & Ziegler are not losses for the Marlins. They’re covered there, but should get “something” in return.
Dietrich at 1B, Telis will play 2b, Dean looks ready to come up and play LF ….with Flores as a Super Utility guy. Riddle at SS, Anderson at 3B
Urena, Flaherty/Alcantara, Peters, Conley, Chen/Despainge as a rotation.
No playoffs, but serviceable.
vtadave
Sounds like s 60-win team at best.
formerlyz
You’d have to factor in the returns, and some of the other pieces left. I could see them being somewhere around the same, maybe a little lower win total, depending on health. That’s something they’d take with the improved flexibility, as it would be a different scenario, whereas what they had before wasn’t sustainable and couldn’t be built on
Ski to Coors
It’d be literally hilarious if Marlins got tired of playing around and used a few more valuable assets to trim payroll around him and he got stuck spending the next 3 years playing out the rebuilding era in Miami before opting out of his deal.
It’d be wise on Miami’s part to trade away almost all of their MLB talent who isn’t pre-arb through 2021. Their “fan base” would hate them less if they keep Stanton and trade names like Bour and Ozuna anyway.
Ski to Coors
The Stanton rumors have been stale for about a week now.
He obviously is holding out for Dodgers and won’t budge til there is affirmation they aren’t interested.
bradthebluefish
Spending three years until your Opt Out year in St Louis or San Francisco. How bad would that be? Both teams are playoff contenders with recent enough World Series appearances. And both teams are WAY better than the Marlins.
beard
why do you think the Giants are WAY better than the Marlins? The Marlins are not as bad as people think. They finished with a better record last year and have a much better farm.
Granted who knows what the team will look like after the salary dump… but for now I’d take the Marlins as the better team than the Giants anyway.
beard
Eh or maybe their farms are both equally bad. Anyway neither team looks like a winner right now
brucewayne
The Giants are not playoff contenders!
Begamin
What do you think it’ll take for the Yankees to get a deal like that done? Keep in mind a team would only have to beat out the offers that Stanton is willing to greenlight, so a team like the Yankees wouldnt neccessarily put together a better package than the Giants if Stanton wont greenlight a Giants trade.
I wouldnt give up any major pieces for Stanton outside of eating the contract if i had to trade for him. Yankees could possibly flip Ellsbury, Headly, Castro if they were willing to eat all of those contracts including Stantons, but would it be worth it at that point?
I dunno, i still have him going to SF or STL, but i had Ohtani going to NYY so i feel like its all up in the air at this point.
bronxbombers
Maybe a trade with Yankees with Yankees
Yankees get: Stanton with 7 million a year
Marlins: Clint Frazier, Albert Abreu, jake cave, ben heller
Begamin
The Marlins are trying to dump salary, not eat it.
bronxbombers
It’s they said they are willing to eat some of the contract. They would be relieving themselves of 23 mil a year and getting good prospects back
Begamin
I read it a bit wrong. I read it as te Yankees would have Stanton for 7 million a year if they gave up those prospects.
Im not sure i’d be willing to part with some of those prospects, those are 4 really talented players.
BSPORT
CAshman would be all in for that trade.
VABlitz
Getting rid of Ells would be the only reason I would even consider taking on Stanton’s contract. But Headley’s gone after this year and Castro isn’t really a concern either. I don’t want to be in the same situation as the Arod contract. Hopefully Cashman has learned his lesson after Ells.
Begamin
I agree. Id be unwilling to move big name prospects to Miami. I only included trading away Headly and Castro as incentive for the Yankees to open up spots for their top prospects and Miami now needs a stop gap 2B if im not mistaken.
xfloydsterx
the fact the Boston came up makes me froth at the mouth. not a Boston fan at all but man, for exciting BASEBALL, just imagine Stanton and that wall!
Ski to Coors
Wish Rockies would make a play. Marlins willing to take 50M off his salary for a couple borderline fringe/elite prospects? Please do. Bridich could go cheap on relievers (via trade for closer and a value guy like Hector Rondon) and internal for a catcher. Taking on say 40M between Stanton and a couple relievers would allow roughly 25M next year to extend Blackmon and Arenado. Their payroll would start to balloon via arbitration around 2020, but Stanton might opt out then and I’d only be trying to extend Blackmon into 2020 or 2021.
bronxbombers
It would be a dream for all baseball fans to see Stanton hit 80 hrs in coors
ChiSoxCity
Well, the Cubs have a lot to think about. They have the pieces to get Stanton. The question is, are they willing to give up some combo of Baez/Schwarber/Happ/Russell/Almora for him. If so, would the Cubs be willing to absorb that much payroll with Bryant’s extension and Harper’s free agency looming? Very intriguing.
Jean Matrac
You, like a lot of others, talk about the pieces to get Stanton, and that’s not what it’s about. The Marlins have approved the Giant’s offer. So if the Giants have the pieces to acquire Stanton then so do at least 25 other teams.
It’s not about the pieces, it’s about the salary. I see some Yankee fans talking about their team getting involved. The Yanks do not want to take on the amount of salary that would interest Miami. And neither do the Cubs, or Dodgers, or most of the teams in MLB.
Waiting for Stanton is bad enough without hearing some Mariner’s or other team’s fan saying their team should get into it. If your team is not looking to add at least $270m for 10 years, then Miami isn’t interested in the pieces they have to offer; the trade pieces are irrelevant.
outinleftfield
I agree for the most part. The only part that I think you missed is that the Marlins are not as concerned with getting some team to pick up all $295 million as they are getting Stanton’s $25-26 million salary per year off the payroll in 2018-2019.
The Marlins will have both a new TV contract and a naming rights deal that will have added $80-100 million to their revenue by 2021, so lowering payroll in 2021 and beyond is not much of an issue for them.
Jean Matrac
I don’t think that’s how the Marlins are looking at it. It’s been reported that the Marlins were willing to pick up only about $5m per season for Stanton’s salary, and limited to only 5 years assuming he doesn’t opt out. They are also looking to move other pieces so this is a total rebuild. I seriously doubt that in 2021 when they’re looking to field a contender, and they could use a clear payroll to add FAs, that they want to be paying Stanton for playing on another team.,
ChiSoxCity
No, it’s about the four teams Stanton would waive his “no trade” clause to move to. The Cubs are one of those teams, allegedly. Probably not happening, but it’s worth some consideration.
kbarr888
All this rhetoric about “pieces, packages, salary, tradition,history, and interest”…..None of that really matters.
It’s really very simple. Stanton Gets To Choose.
1. He can choose which team making offers he wants to go to
2. He can choose to reject any/all of those teams because he doesn’t want to play there
3. He can choose to list which teams he WILL waive his NTC for
4. And Yes……He can choose to stay with the Marlins until they find a Deal that’s ACCEPTABLE to HIM.
Sure, the Marlins will sell-off most of the other players, and become a bottom-feeder team, but Stanton Still Gets Paid His $25 Mil.
Sure, Stanton will have to suffer through a rebuild for a year….or two….at the most 3. But he’ll still be only 31 when he opts-out after 2020. Harper & Machado will have “set the bar higher”, and he’ll probably still get 7/$218. He’ll look like a Bargain then. He’ll be a FA….and he can make any deal that he wants to. Anywhere.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
You want the cubs two trade away half of their infield , almora,Happ and Schwarber for Stanton. You’re an idiot. That’s an easy pass on him. I’d rather keep them sign. 2 bullpen arms and one more starter and wait and see if they can get Ohtani. If they don’t. Then try for 2 starters Cobb and maybe Lynn.
ChiSoxCity
Can you read?
outinleftfield
It is really very simple. The Marlins cannot wait past the Winter Meetings for Stanton to make a decision because if they do too many possible landing spaces for the guys they have to trade to make payroll will have already been filled.
Stanton has until this weekend to say yea or nay. If he says nay or has not made a decision, then the Marlins start looking for fits for Ozuna, Yelich, Prado, Straily, Zeigler, and possibly Realmuto and Bour.
Jean Matrac
Agree, and even if Miami could wait, the Cards and Giants can’t. Their offers will evaporate at some point.
formerlyz
Stanton, Wittgren, Jarlin Garcia, Derek Dietrich (add Urena and/or Conley if necessary/generally w/e prospect(s) the Cubs might actually want) to the Cubs for Contreras, Happ (if necessary, take him out, as well as Dietrich and Garcia), Zobrist, Albertos, Maples, Tseng, Burks, and Moreno?
Maybe throw in Realmuto, and switch out Happ and Burks for Baez and Hatch? That’s probably too much involved, and slightly in the Marlins favor due to 1 extra year of control, although the Cubs would be getting controllable bullpen arms, and a much cheaper replacement for Zobrist, who also didn’t play well in 2017.
Thoughts? Too many moving pieces? Only a couple of guys at or close to the big leagues coming back in the first version. Marlins take all of Zobrist salary for 2 years…i don’t feel like either of these iterations really does anything to hurt the Cubs depth/farm system, and they do still retain their young guys. The 1st iteration probably makes more sense for them, but it could also make sense to try and get Realmuto to help behind the plate if they move Contreras
…they might be more inclined to go after rotation help though. They’re probably fine offensively, which is where I would see this not going too far. Just thinking out loud. Don’t crucify me lol
Also, I personally wouldnt, and hope the Marlins don’t trade Stanton, Yelich, or Realmuto, but I can see scenarios where it happens considering everything to this point, although I think this most recent news means he is staying for now
Jean Matrac
No way the Cubs take on Stanton’s salary with a number of extensions coming up for their young core players. Some of those tradeable assets are probably going in a trade for a SP, and most obvious, Miami is not taking Zobrist. He’s exactly not what a team like the Marlins want for their rebuild.
formerlyz
Stanton is 3 years/$77 million
Jean Matrac
There is no guarantee whatsoever that Stanton opts out. A lot can change in 3 years. Opt outs do not work in the team’s favor ever. Any GM that would acquire a player under the assumption that he will opt-out in 3 years is a very stupid GM.
formerlyz
In 3 years, 7/$218 million for Stanton is less than he’d get as a FA. If he stays healthy, and his injuries have been freak injuries, he could get $240-250 million at that point. Regardless, I wouldn’t want to trade him right now, and as we both said, the Cubs are likely more inclined to try and add pitching.
Mikel Grady
So heyward isn’t opting out?? Dang it.
crazymountain
Contreras is a Cubs untouchable along with Rizzo and Bryant. Russell will go before ANY consideration of trading Baez. Happ, although one of my favorites, is the best young trade piece that the Cubs have. Happ is versatile and his bat has huge potential.
ChiSoxCity
Why would the Cubs trade Contreras? Some people may not realize this yet, but Contreras is the best catcher in baseball right now. Guys like that don’t get traded. Period.
formerlyz
If you read the comment, I said I didn’t think he would get moved either. I was just thinking out loud as to what a Stanton deal with them might look like, and he’d be the guy I would want…
justinept
The Cubs aren’t trading for Stanton unless Miami takes back Heyward to off-set some of the money. Since no one believes the Marlins would ever do that, we can thusly end this speculation about Stanton to the Cubs…
formerlyz
Well, I did mention offsetting with Zobrist, and maybe in that scenario, they eat some money on Heyward to send him somewhere that could use a defensive OFer, or they play it out into the year and hope he puts up closer to league average numbers at the plate, and they won’t have to eat as much to move him, and the depth works for them for now? I still feel like the Cubs will probably be in on Bryce Harper and Kershaw next year, so thats something to consider when discussing what they would or wouldn’t spend with Heyward right now, at least if they can still offset some money elsewhere. The opt out is also noteworthy, as it lines up with some of their young guys timelines, and they’ll have other money coming off the books at about the same time….
I think it would be more about it not being necessary right now, and them still needing pitching, than specifically about not taking the money in terms of a deal where some upfront money is offset. That being said, it would remain to be seen what the Marlins would do in that scenario in terms of taking back Zobrist, and obviously Contreras is likely untouchable at this point. Still, I feel like its a decent conversation in terms of value, if other variables might not have been involved. Like I said, just thinking out loud lol
greg 14
In light of the explosion in HRs, wonder how valuable Stanton really is. Plus, he has a history of being injured.
justinept
Think about it like Bonds or Sosa. Yes, there was a home run explosion – but those two were the best at it.
ttinsley1434
Best at what…..injections?
abmarinerjv
You all are whimpering about nothing. 16 years. 16 years! And we have this Ohtani drama! Talk about hanging your hopes on a man! Rock on Dipoto!
outinleftfield
Did a search on Baseball-Reference for these criteria during this century.
Younger than 27, HR>=35, BA>=.300, OBP>=.375 and OPS>=.920.
I found 14 other times it had been done in 17 seasons. Pujols had 5 of those 12. Arod had three. Harper had one, his MVP year. Votto, Beltre, Teixeira, Howard, and Kemp had one each.
Ozuna hit .312/.376 with 37 HR and a .924 OPS.
He has 2 seasons of team control. Do you think anyone on that Marlins team is more valuable in trade than he will be?
Jean Matrac
I have no doubt Ozuna brings back a much better package than Stanton. Because of the contract Stanton has neutral value, whereas Ozuna has a lot of surplus value. Ozuna is projected for some regression, but I think the Marlins will hold out for a big return.
formerlyz
Which is why I would keep Stanton, Yelich, and Realmuto for now, and trade everyone else
Jean Matrac
But the Marlins want to get the payroll down to $90m. They could probably keep Ozuna, Yelich and Realmuto and do that, but not Stanton. And I assume that $90m goal is not some arbitrary number, but a number that would give them to have some financial flexibility down the road when they are ready to contend.
formerlyz
They can get to that by trading Ozuna, Bour, Straily, eating 6-8 million on Prado, and half of Ziegler’s contract
Ski to Coors
There isn’t many with 900 OPS potential. Cards seem to be specifically looking for that type of big bat that could push a top 15 offense into a top 5 offense. Their available positions for upgrade are 2B or OF.
Aside from Ozuna or Stanton, JD Martinez and Brian Dozier are about the only ones potentially available. After that you’re talking McClutchen, Avisail Garcia, and not much else. Cargo seems a long ways away from his prime, but second half of 2015 he was easily one of the best hitters in baseball. Cozart might be a dark horse candidate.
abmarinerjv
Rock on Dipoto!
Mark Sutton
The Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs and Astros all have a nucleus of outstanding young players that should allow them to compete for a future World Series triumph without Stanton. If those teams’ young players do not tank, they will have to be paid a lot of money to keep the teams competitive. Stanton’s contract will saddle those teams with a huge chunk of debt for ten years and will jeopardize the ability of any of those teams to retain their current nucleus of younger players as the players reach free agency.
At this juncture, without Stanton, the Giants and Cardinals do not have as strong a nucleus of players to compete for championships as well as the other teams in the running. That is why the Giants and Cardinals are more willing to take on the long-term risk of Stanton’s contract.
If Stanton holds out for the Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs and/or Astros, I think he will be playing with the Marlins next year.
crazymountain
Cubs ownership has the ability to outspend even the Dodgers. However, they won’t consider doing so. The biggest problem is the overcrowded OF and Heyward also has a no-trade clause in his contract.
justinept
They might in the future, but they don’t have that ability yet … the Dodgers TV pays them $325 mil per year. That covers the entirety of their payroll AND luxury tax penalties. If the Cubs play their cards right when their Tv rights expire in a couple years, then they could potentially put themselves on that same level. Until then, the Dodgers are in a league of their own with money.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
It would be nice to have Stanton on the cubs but 1. They don’t have anything substantial to offer back and they need that 295mil or what ever they would pay and use it for Bryant, rizzo,baez,Russell and contreas when the time is right for their respective extensions and raises.
justinept
The Giants have little to nothing in their farm, and the Marlins reportedly agreed to a deal with them.
It’s hard to imagine the Cubs couldn’t top that if they were inclined. Two of Schwarber, Happ, Almora would likely get the deal done based on what the Giants could offer.
The problem? The Cubs don’t want to pay both Stanton and Heyward. So they’d require the Marlins to take back Heyward. That’s where the whole thing falls apart. The Marlins want to shed significant salary. The Cubs don’t want to take on significant salary.
beard
If hes truly saying that he prefers the Houston / Dodgers / Cubs / Yankees, then it sounds like the dude is just saying that he likes those cities / clubs well enough but most importantly he wants to win now.
The Giants are not looking like a contender and St Louis is on the fringe (or maybe he just really dislikes provel cheese). Not really sure why all the bashing about why he should want to play in *my* city. He has opinions about where he wants to be just like everyone else.
I think he ends up staying in Miami and opting out in 3 years.
VABlitz
I doubt he opts out. After 3 years, his value is going to be a lot lower than it is today. I see him going back to his pre-2017 numbers.
imametsfanbut
At this point Stanton is weakening Miami’s position by holding out. Maybe they should consider ADDING a few starters and making a run now! Sign Arietta and Lynn and keep that OF together and possibly make some noise.
stymeedone
Does the trade of Gordon possibly indicate that the Fish know he won’t approve either deal, and they are now moving other assets, instead?
canajay12
No, they were rumoured to be listening on any of their players. They’ve been talking Ozuna, Stanton, Gordon and even Yelich among others for weeks now.
canajay12
I see the team wants to shed payroll but the question is what next? You’ve got 3 superstars in the outfield in Miami for a combined total of $43 million. If you ditch Stanton for prospects that number is 2 stars combined $18MM per.
What more are you realistically looking for as an owner of a franchise? You need your stars to be on rookie contracts or you blow it up? Whoever they get for these guys will cost just as much or more by the time they get to be as good as this outfield is if they ever even reach that status.
Ditching Stanton makes sense for a smaller cap team but as far as position players go and salary tied to those players they’re in about as good of position as a team could hope for at the moment. (Every team has some form of poor contract like the Prado one)
cjuluca
Dodgers trade Puig and Grandal for Stanton and offset $16m of the $25m this year.
Marlins turn around and trade Puig and Grandal for better prospects than either Giants or Cards are willing to give.
BillGiles
That’s one of the few realistic proposals on here. Another one might be the Phillies absorbing Grandal and/or McCarthy from the Dodgers if they include Peterson or a solid prospect or two. Maybe Mccarthy, Grandal, Peterson for Rupp, Lively?
Coast1
The Phillies have no use for any of those players? I know Matt Klentak likes to do favors for other GMs and take untradeable players off their hands, but none of those players help the Phillies get better long term.
BlueSkyLA
A reasonable scenario if you make it Pederson instead of Puig. The Marlins would also have to accept some of the post-opt-out risk on Stanton.
hiflew
At this point, I hope Stanton just rots away in Miami.
Cardinals17
At the beginning of the winter meetings, Stanton needs to be fair. Tell the teams like the Cardinals and Giants to move on, he’s not interested in their towns! Then those clubs can grab the actual people they need to make things click for 2018. The Cardinals shouldn’t even consider a person this long with him repeatedly stating he doesn’t like the organization. If he doesn’t like the Cardinals and Cardinal history now. He never will. Move on Cards. There are others that would live to play in St. Louis.
driftcat28 2
I’d prefer the Yankees don’t trade for Stanton because I’d rather keep the farm system intact and he costs way too much. But wow, Stanton & Judge in the same lineup.
nashvillecardsfan
If I’m the cardinals, I’m on the phone with the orioles about Machado. If they could work a deal for him contingent on an extension agreement this would be ideal. A more premium position locked up with a younger player.
ronnsnow
No way Machado doesn’t hit the open market. The Yankees have a void at thirdbase and will be going all in on him.
nashvillecardsfan
I’d be surprised if he didn’t hit the open market as well. I can dream!
justinept
As long as you see it as a long shot. Guys get overpaid as free agents. He’s a year away. No way he turns down that opportunity …
neworleanstaints
It’s surprising the Cardinals thought he would accept a trade to them and put that much time into I️t.
thelyonhearted
Agreed. They were always a long shot considering how anti-landlocked he was
mbrunette48
Miami would have to take Ellsbury remaining contract of 84 million for the next 4 years to make Stanton to the Yanks a reality. Ellsbury, Andjuar, high a upside arm for Stanton would work for both sides. Miami sheds rough fully 210 million from their payroll over the next 10 years ( 295 – 84 ellsbury contract), while the Yankees improve and still can realistically stay under the luxury tax and reset it this year, by only spending an additional 8 million to upgrade from Ellsbury to Stanton.
baseball365
I’ve long speculated that Stanton to the Yanks made sense, long before the emergence of Judge. Stanton years ago made it known his interest in the Yanks and being a Yank fan himself. That said, the only real way this works for the Yanks present day is if they move Ellsbury. They have Gardner, Judge, Hicks, Ellsbury, Frazier, Cave, McKinny and Florial on the depth chart. If they can’t move Ellsbury, then there is no Stanton. Just from the financial standpoint, it doesn’t work.
As some have said, it’s really debatable what the Marlins had in mind when “absorbing” salary. I don’t think they were planning on more than $40mm total. So Ellsbury has about $70mm total owed to him. Hmm.
In a perfect world, maybe a swap of Ellsbury, Hicks, Cave, Adams, Anjular for Stanton. No money changing hands. The Marlins shed about $225mm in total, which is massive, acquire a useful outfielder in Ellsbury and some other high upside players/prospects.
As for making room on the payroll, the only two other players that would open some money short term, that I see as expendable are Castro and Headley. The Yanks could send Headley to the Marlins, but meh, it’s just $13mm for the Yanks and taking on a bit more risk than I’m comfortable in that case. Castro I could see going to the Marlins. But then that leaves a bit of a whole at 2nd for the Yanks. Had Torres not been injured, then I could see it easily, but he’s going to need to be at AAA for the first few months of 2018.
It really all points back to Ellsbury if the Yanks can figure something out. Which, I’ll admit, seems limited in options.
Ken M.
Can’t give up Hicks in that deal without getting at least 50M back.
baseball365
No way. Ellsbury and his $68mm make up for everything else. A clean swap of Stanton for Ellsbury, Hicks, Cave, Adams, Anjular is a solid deal I feel. Ellsbury is owed $21mm for the next 3 years + $5mm buyout. They reallocate that $21mm to Stanton and have some room in the budget to add $8mm or so. They resign CC for $11mm-$12mm and they’re at $20mm with about $25mm-$26mm to play with. That leaves them with about $6mm or so for in season moves. The Marlins also get Hicks who looks like he’s on his way up, Cave, Adams and Anjular who are all rated highly in their own ways.
beetlejuice
No trade clauses in contracts are a wonderful thing for baseball aren’t they. Why are organizations so stupid to give a player a no trade clause and an opt out in a long term contract? I don’t get it.
stretch123
Keep him. He won’t go to stl or sf. Trade Ozuna and Ziegler (plus 5 mil cash) to stl for Wacha, Jose Martinez and Alcantara and then trade Prado (plus money to cover half his contract) to whoever for a marginal prospect. Gets the team down to 100 million roughly and gives us more depth.
kbarr888
Not sure that STL will give up Wacha, Jose, AND Alcantara for Ozuna & Ziegler.
Throw in Barraclough and they’ll bite (he came from the Cards originally….they miss him) Steckinrider can close. Garcia was fabulous in a set-up role. Maybe Ellington can settle in, or Wittgren can handle the 7th
formerlyz
I still like the iteration of the deal I mentioned for Ozuna, Barraclaugh, and half of Ziegler’s money to the Cardinals, but maybe slightly altered
gmenfan
Agreed. If he was truly on board with SF or STL, he’s be there already. This has been a huge futile exercise in trying to get the Dodgers to bite. No dice, so it’s time to move on and get the hot stove rolling.
Giants could go after Ozuna, and take on Prado as well to help offset some of the prospect load. Prado would still be an upgrade over any of their in house 3B candidates.
teufelshunde4
SSDD in Hot Stove… LoL
vinscully16
Stanton considers himself a victim. He’s played on an underachieving franchise for eight years, four of which he underachieved due to injury. I hardly think that’s a horrid fate. You’d think Stanton was in his 18th year of missing the playoffs, but he’s not. I don’t trust Stanton’s compete level.
ray_derek
He has a no trade clause, he has every right to do this. If you could pick where to get traded, wait let me rephrase, IF I COULD GET TRADED wherever I want, I wouldn’t pick SF or STL either. This is why he has a no trade clause in his contract. Maybe he’d rather play on a crappy Miami team than play is STL: or SF, he’s getting paid either way, or he’d like a ring which would explain his desire to play in LA, Hou, NY or Chicago. I’m unsure why people fail to realize this.
Joe giovengo
A victim of what making more money than a 1000 average working man couldn’t make in a lifetime. He’s a victim of greed
Dotnet22
If I were the Cards Brass, at this point, I would give Stanton til Sunday when the Winter Meetings start to make a decision. If he doesn’t decide by then, move on. You can’t sit idly by and watch other teams sign top tier free agents at the WMs.
baseballpun
At this point, even if he accepts the Cards, they’re either going to get him for 3 years, or pay him for 10 to underperform, b/c the only way he won’t opt out is if he doesn’t play well enough to get another big contract. They’d be much, much better off putting those prospects and cash to multiple other players. Plenty of bullpen arms available and big offensive targets like Abreu, Ozuna, Yelich, Martinez, Hosmer, Longoria, Donaldson…get two bats and 2-3 quality relievers. Or blow Tampa away for Archer. Any combination would be better than what they’re looking at with Stanton.
Zachary Hines
I agree with you totally. I don’t see how this affects a free agent signing of a closer unless they intend to trade for a closer.
baseballpun
Cards need to move on and make a deal for Abreu at the winter meetings.
kbarr888
White Sox Have Come Out And Said “We’re Not Really Interested In Moving Abreu”
Doesn’t mean they don’t, just means that the package better be HUGE!….LOL
baseballpun
That sucks.
Ozuna then.
brucewayne
Link to that? Where?
FBA17
Thought Yankees had smartened up the last few years. This shows maybe they haven’t.
Begamin
They havent made any inclinations of committing to Stanton. Stanton willing to accept a trade there isnt a dumb move on the Yankees part.
CriminalMethod
Stanton would accept a trade to the Yankees. Doesn’t mean they have serious interest in him. He just narrowed his potential suitors down to four teams. This only hurts the Marlins.
Joe giovengo
I’d rather hear rumors about Michael Martinez, than to hear updates about Stanton every five minutes.
coldgoldenfalstaff
The Astros have looked in, Jim Crane was quoted as being interested in how Stanton’s power translated to the short porch in left.
I think it would be a shrewd move for the Astros to trade for him, given the Marlins pick up some substantial salary.
It’s a win now move for a team well positioned to replicate this year’s success, and unless Jim Crane spends like the Yankees or Dodgers, the Astros won’t be able to retain all 4 of their young core. It would help the transition if an impact run producing bat were under contract through 2019-2021 when the Astros need to make tough decisions on who to move and who to sign.
I’d consider any prospect but Whitley movable in a Stanton deal, since Keuchel has only one year left before FA and Verlander two years left.
mrnatewalter
Was Stanton born in 1957?
Because he’s a prima donna.
ray_derek
Why should he go anywhere he doesn’t want to, he has a no trade clause.
thelyonhearted
Wanting to go somewhere isn’t the issue. He’s held up the entire MLB so far, while we all wait for him to announce things he’s known all along. His mind has been made up for a long time – there’s no reason he needs to take his sweet time “deciding” now
ray_derek
Yeah, I’m sure it is made up, he’ll go to NY, Houston, LA or Chicago. Everyone else should move on.
hawkny11
When all is said and done, Stanton will end up with the Red Sox. The Sox will take Mike Stanton’s full contract off of Miami’s hands and the Marlins will take Rusney Castillo’s contract in total. No other players will be involved.
.
Stanton doesn’t want the Cardinals or Giants as his next team. And neither the Dodgers nor Yankees need his power bat and the debt load that comes with it.
baseballpun
“Mike”? Why?
yukongold
Do it, CASH! Bring the Twin towers back to NY.
thelyonhearted
Time for the Giants to move on to JD…or literally any other OFer possible.
ad3
Cardinals need to move on…look into a package for Machado…or a package to get Colome, Longoria, and either Archer or Odorizzi from Tampa. They have the revenue to take on all contracts and prospects log jammed at positions they can move.
baseballpun
They could do so much more with the money and prospects they have than just get 3 years of Stanton.
sfg415sfc
Dear Mike Stanton, we do not want you in San Francisco.
thelyonhearted
What you mean to say is, “Dear dodger-at-heart, guess you don’t want any rings during your career? Fine, no skin off our noses.”
Dave 32
if Big Baby Stanton doesn’t want to play for St. Louis or San Francisco and is gonna hold out for the Dodgers or nothing, let him.
I’d rather St. Louis get to the Winter Meetings free and clear and come out with something rather than stay in a holding pattern for Stanton, if the guy doesn’t want to play there. It’s not even a really difficult decision since he has an opt-out and can change his mind if he wants and almost definitely come out ahead in any scenario. He’ll still be filthy rich the entire rest of his life. He might even get a World Series win out of it.
stretch123
Here is an out of the box idea I think worth considering for both clubs:
Giancarlo to the Cubs along with Dan Straily for Jason Heyward, ian happ and Alex lange. Cubs send 15 million to Miami in 2018, and 5 million in 2019 and 2020.
Cubs get an upgrade in RF, plus they get out of Hayward’s contract. THey get straily to fill the last rotation spot (they can flip him if they sign otani). Marlins get a new second baseman, a young pitching prospect, and HAyward, who is a great defensive outfielder that has a more affordable contract.
vtadave
Should’ve kept it in the box.
Heyward is still owed $127.5 million, so with $25 million coming back, the Marlins would still owe him $102.5 million. Of course they get rid of Stanton’s contract, but I don’t think this is happening.
brucewayne
Hahaha! The Cubs are not getting rid of Heywards lousy contract! EVER! They are stuck with that albatross!
islandfever24
Quite obvious what he chose here… the 2017 ALCS and NLCS contenders… nothing more, nothing less. Was he going to choose his destinations to be Cleveland/Boston/Arizona/Washington if things had ended up differently? As a Yankee fan, I don’t know if we really need more strikeouts or another kagillion dollars on our roster…
HubcapDiamondStarHalo
I refuse to identify my source, but I have it on very good authority that Stanton had dinner last night.
ttinsley1434
It’s funny how 2 days ago, Gnats fans were pumped about Stanton coming to SF, now they don’t want him on their dumpster fire of a team. Weird how that works.
thelyonhearted
It’s a coping mechanism, which is understandable considering how much their FO psyches up players before inevitably not getting them. You’d probably do the same if a player of that caliber had shown interest in your team.
Also, I hardly consider having literally more WS titles than any other team in the last decade a “dumpster fire”
dj415cali
This is the best news yet…coming from a Giants fan! The offer from the Giants was TOO steep. We can leverage the wait for less prospects included in the trade deal. However, I do think the Giants have a potential play around Brandon Belt after Hosmer signs. Abreu seems to be off the market and a Hosmer deal, which probably will be worth more than Belt is owed, would push teams to offer something from Belt. Giants should use that trade to lower payroll and I would look at moving Samardjiza too because the SP market is thin.
I will say this, the Ohtani and Stanton situations have made this free agent market more interesting and they are not even Free Agents so to speak (Im making Ohtani an exception in this context as he has not played for an MLB team)
mrnatewalter
Moving Belt would be a terrible idea, for a couple reasons:
1. When healthy, he’s extremely underrated. A 131 wRC+ over the past three seasons. He’s not just underrated. Over that span, he’s the best offensive player on the Giants.
2. The market for 1B is too flooded. It you have to pick between trading good players for Belt (and taking on his contract) or sign, say, Carlos Santana, which do you think teams pick?
The return for a guy like Belt just wouldn’t be strong enough to justify moving the best offensive player on the Giants roster.
Msvhs79
I don’t blame Stanton! If I was in his shoes I would do the same! I just hope now that the Cardinals can move on and get the second opportunity done!