Marlins Would Trade Stanton for Right Package

Although the Marlins have been busy this offseason completely undoing every recent effort made to reinvent the franchise, the one thing they have not done is trade superstar right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. According to assistant general manager Dan Jennings, that’s something that could change at any moment if the team is given an enticing enough offer.

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Granted, the Marlins are not actively shopping the former second round selection in 2007, and considering the subject in question just so happens to be a 23-year-old phenom with a career .903 OPS and nearly 100 home runs to his name already, the asking price is certain to be exorbitant — and rightly so. Just because the organization is willing to listen to offers doesn’t mean a trade is likely to happen, but clearly it’s a possibility.

Such a move would resoundingly conclude the latest Marlin fire sale; there’s officially no chance the team will be competitive in the near future. Stanton’s recent public comments indicate he isn’t happy the organization (why would he be?), so it seems unlikely he would be quick to sign a long-term agreement that locks him up through his first couple free agent seasons. That said, he can’t hit the open market until 2017, and if Miami believes they have any chance of improving within that time frame, it’s a dicey proposition to trade a cost-controlled player with such immense talent.

For an organization with already bare cupboards, trading Stanton might not be a bad idea, but obviously they can’t take such a scenario lightly. The team can’t ship him away simply because he’s unhappy and they want to finish what they started. For a player this good, the return simply has to be mind-boggling, and perhaps an offer of that nature will come up. If not, the Marlins might want to hold off on trading their behemoth slugger and hope the team’s performance (and relationship with Stanton) improves enough to sign him for the long haul.

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