While the Miami Marlins have fielded interest from a slew of teams since placing Giancarlo Stanton on the trading block, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals were pegged as being the most aggressive in their pursuit.
But aside from the 10 years and $295 million remaining on Stanton’s deal, the possibility of trading him to either of those clubs was further hindered by a full no-trade clause. Nonetheless, the Cardinals and Giants each reached agreements with the Marlins on the framework of trades.
But as time wore on, the list of teams Stanton reportedly was open to playing for included the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. It was followed by indications the Cardinals and Giants weren’t yet out of the picture.
But on Friday, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced the team was informed Stanton would not waive his no-trade clause to join St. Louis, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“We had an agreement to acquire Giancarlo Stanton from the Miami Marlins, subject to him waiving his no-trade clause. We have been notified that he will not waive his no-trade clause to come to St. Louis. While we are disappointed in his decision, we will continue to make every effort to improve our club for the upcoming season. “Unfortunately we were not able to convince Stanton to waive his no-trade clause and join the Cardinals. We felt this was a great landing spot for him, but it was not meant to be.”
There was first indication in the middle of November that Stanton would not approve a deal to the Cardinals or Boston Red Sox. His priorities are said to be playing on the West Coast and for a contending team.
As the standoff between Stanton and the Marlins carries on, there’s some thought the team will move to trading other assets. They already moved in that direction by sending Dee Gordon to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospects.
While the general consensus holds that Stanton remains hopeful the Dodgers will ultimately become more involved in trade talks, that may become a possibility now that Shohei Ohtani decided to sign with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
