If this is accurate, it could be something of a seminal moment in the still-ongoing-or-maybe-stalled-we-actually-don’t-know-please-do-something Giancarlo Stanton trade talks.
From @CraigMish on @TMASTL re: #STLCards and #Stanton: I have been told the #SFGiants are willing to take on the entire contract, and that makes the Giants the favorites right now with the Cardinals in second place. I think the Giants are all-in until the end to get Stanton.
— Tim McKernan (@tmckernan) November 29, 2017
To be quite clear, the ball is still mostly in Stanton’s court, since he’s the one with the no-trade rights, and reportedly is holding out hope for the Dodgers. But if the Marlins have to keep applying the pressure (i.e., either you accept this deal or we start trading off all your teammates), maybe this is what some team was going to need to do to get the deal done.
If the report is accurate, and if the Giants are offering anything at all in the way of trade return in addition to taking on the entirety of a contract that is *at best* the kind of market-price deal that only a very small collection of teams could manage, then this deal needs to get done. I have a really hard time seeing the Cardinals agreeing to take on that whole contract (and it’s still very much an open question whether Stanton would accept a trade there in any case).
Stanton heading to the Giants would set them up to be a quick turnaround in 2018 (well, try to be, anyway), after finishing tied for the worst record in the league. They’d have to bet on a healthy return to form from both Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto, while also making some thoughtful other additions in the bullpen and in center field. They’re already a team right there at the luxury tax level, so they must be prepared to blow through it.
We’ll see if this actually moves things forward, though. For all we know, the Marlins have known about the Giants’ willingness to take on the whole contract for weeks now, and are still holding out for more. Or perhaps they’re afraid Stanton won’t say yes until he know the Dodgers are definitely out.
… and maybe the Marlins will use this report to try to get the Dodgers a little more involved. Nothing like playing two bitter rivals off of each other for the reigning MVP, right?
That’s how the thinking might go, at least.