The Miami Marlins new ownership group led by Derek Jeter has made it clear that the plan to cut their payroll down, and because of that they are shopping the reigning National League MVP, Giancarlo Stanton, on the trade market.
Stanton has 10 years and $295 million remaining on his contract, which may make it tough to trade him as teams may not want to take on the entirety of that contract.
The San Francisco Giants are currently considered the favorites to land Stanton, as they have already made a formal offer to the Marlins, although the St. Louis Cardinals are also factors.
The darkhorse in the equation is the Los Angeles Dodgers, as Stanton has a full no-trade clause and many people close to him believe that he wants to play for the Dodgers, his hometown team that he grew up rooting for.
While the Dodgers have talked about cutting their own payroll to get below the luxury tax threshold, one Major League Baseball scout believes that if Stanton really wants to be a Dodger, he has the ability to make it happen because of his no-trade clause, via Buster Olney of ESPN:
“This is why we negotiate deals like this,” said an agent who does not represent Stanton, referring to Stanton’s no-trade clause. “He was good enough for the Marlins to give him that contract, and to give him the no-trade protection. He should use it.”
It’s true that Stanton has the ability to block a trade to any team not named the Dodgers if that’s what he wants to do, which could drive down the price it would cost the Dodgers to land him. But if the Dodgers don’t want to take on his contract then Miami will either need to eat some of it in a deal, or Stanton may still be in Miami when the 2018 season begins.
Stanton has not yet come out and said that his desire is to play only for the Dodgers if he is traded, so other teams in pursuit of him shouldn’t get discouraged yet. But if he does then things could begin to get a lot more interesting.
