In 2017, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton became just the sixth player in Major League history to hit 59 home runs in a season, joining the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Roger Maris and Babe Ruth.
Despite his outstanding MVP season, the Marlins new ownership group led by Derek Jeter has prioritized reducing their payroll, so they have put Stanton on the trade block this offseason.
Many teams have shown interest in Stanton, but his 10-year, $295 million contract complicates things as teams may be unwilling to take on the entirety of it.
One club that has reportedly shown some interest is the Los Angeles Dodgers, Stanton’s hometown team. However, the Dodgers front office has also said that they would like to reduce their payroll though.
So it comes as no surprise that trade talks with the Marlins have stalled while other teams like the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals have continued to progress in their discussions, via Jon Morosi of MLB Network:
Sources: #Dodgers and #Marlins have had contact regarding Giancarlo Stanton trade concepts, but talks have failed to progress so far; #STLCards and #SFGiants showing more sustained interest. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 27, 2017
One thing the Dodgers have going for them though is that Stanton has a full no-trade clause, so he can veto a trade to any team other than the Dodgers if he wants to wind up in Los Angeles, which many teams believe he will do.
If Stanton makes it clear that he will only allow a trade to the Dodgers then that would significantly drive down the price it would take the Dodgers to acquire the four-time All-Star. Miami would still probably have to eat some of his contract in the deal for the Dodgers to be interested though.
With the Dodgers falling one win short of winning the World Series in 2017, they may not feel making a major move like acquiring Stanton is necessary, or they may view acquiring him as putting their team over the World Series hump, only time will tell.
