Last night, a Cardinals delegation of their very top brass met with Giancarlo Stanton’s representatives in Los Angeles. Although it won’t be confirmed publicly, this would be happening only if the Marlins were down the road a bit in trade talks with the Cardinals, and thus had granted them permission to talk to Stanton about waiving his no-trade clause to accept a deal.
The same scenario is playing out with the Giants on a parallel track, though, and the general feeling is that, all else equal, Stanton is going to prefer going to the West Coast.
Sure enough, Jon Heyman’s many sources suggest it’s a serious long-shot that Stanton would accept a trade to the Cardinals, particularly if the Giants remain in the mix (let alone the Dodgers). Phrases like “didn’t see any way” and “100 percent” were thrown around. It really doesn’t sound like anyone close to Stanton believes he’ll go to St. Louis unless all other possibilities fall off the table.
To that end, it doesn’t sound like the Giants are going anywhere, and it does sound like they have an offer on the table that is at least acceptable to the Marlins. Heyman writes at length about the Dodgers’ interest in the player, but not his contract, and you can read more here on how they could try to massage that issue.
In sum, it remains the very strong case that Stanton eventually winds up in San Francisco, unless the Dodgers get spooked and decide to jump in more seriously. In neither of those scenarios does Stanton wind up in St. Louis, but I suppose I’ve seen crazier things happen. (You know, like the St. Louis Cardinals devolving into an unattractive trade destination.)