NEWSLETTER
Because of the way this offseason has played out (to be precise: the way nothing at all has played out), I’ve become obsessed with tracking the Giancarlo Stanton trade market as much for the intrigue of the thing itself as for the simple fact that once it’s over, we MIGHT see a lot more movement.
To that end, there’s an update:
Sources: Giancarlo Stanton’s camp has given #Marlins a list of teams to which he would accept trades. #Dodgers are among them. To this point, Stanton has not formally rejected any trades. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 27, 2017
Sources: Some teams pursuing Giancarlo Stanton believe #Dodgers are his first choice, and that he will be reluctant to approve other destinations until there is clarity with LA. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 27, 2017
If that’s true, and if other trade partners – and free agents out there – have the sense that the Dodgers are open to the right deal for Stanton, it’s very easy to see how this is holding things up. That would mean you have one of the biggest spending teams with their offseason in semi-limbo, holding one of the biggest trade sellers in limbo, holding the other major interested teams in limbo (the Cardinals and Giants are expected to be among the most active teams this offseason, and the Red Sox are always a big-time player), which then in turn could hold so many free agents in limbo.
And it could all be because Stanton doesn’t want to approve a trade to, for example, the Giants or Cardinals, until he knows for sure it isn’t going to happen with the Dodgers. Maybe the Dodgers have made a much, much worse offer for Stanton than the Giants, but the Marlins have no way to *force* Stanton to accept a deal to the Giants when the Dodgers are still technically on the table. And maybe the Dodgers would improve the offer a bit to get the deal done, but they don’t know how far they’re willing to go on Stanton until they know for sure what they can or can’t do via avenues X, Y, and Z (and maybe THOSE avenues are themselves held up in a circuitous fashion by the Stanton decision!!!).
It all can become an extended and interconnected game of chicken whereby seemingly wholly unrelated things (like the Cubs and Alex Cobb?) could be DIRECTLY waiting on Stanton and the Marlins. Someone has to blink first – either Stanton, the Marlins, the Dodgers, or the free agents/teams wanting to wait for the best time to strike.
Something will shake loose eventually – hopefully, even if it isn’t a Stanton trade, the involved teams get enough clarity that other teams and unrelated free agents will start to feel confident pulling the trigger on moves.
Meanwhile, I don’t want to lose sight of just how ground-shaking a Stanton trade will be. Some team is going to get an enormous and immediate upgrade (hopefully not the Cardinals unless it’s a brutally bad trade for them), and the landscape in the league in which he lands will be moved considerably. Reigning MVPs aren’t traded in their late-20s all that often.
UPDATE: Of course, if you hoped things would shake looks QUICKLY, Morosi just tweeted that you shouldn’t get your hopes up:
Giancarlo Stanton trade is not imminent, sources say. While his camp has given #Marlins a list of acceptable teams, indications are the group may be negotiable. Thus, the free-agent logjam persists. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 27, 2017
