Giants, Cardinals Still Battling for Giancarlo Stanton, But Dodgers Linger

We ended the day yesterday with some last-minute (but really important!) notes on Shohei Ohtani, so it only seems right to start today off with some bits on Giancarlo Stanton.

These are the two names holding up the market, but both seem to be heading towards a conclusion:

  • If you went by the headlines alone, you might become convinced that the Giants were about to land not just one or the other, but both young superstars, Ohtani and Stanton. At Mercury News, Dieter Kurtenbach discusses how adding both would transform the Giants immediately, and Dave Cameron (FanGraphs) follows that up with some math on why it may be necessary.
  • Basically, as of now, the Giants project to finish fourth in the NL West and just outside the bottom five teams of the National League altogether. If they add just Stanton alone, that should propel them upwards … but not by enough to contend. That would mean they’d still need to add more wins, but with a payroll tickling the luxury tax threshold, some expiring contacts (Madison Bumgarner is a free agent after 2019), and aging starts (Buster Posey is 31), they’ll need to do it quickly, cheaply, and efficiently. Obviously, Ohtani hits all three of those marks.
  • Interestingly, Cameron wonders if the Giants are actually trying to land Stanton to better entice Ohtani to come to San Francisco. However he warns that they must beware the dreaded outcome of adding Stanton (and his $$$) while missing out on Ohtani altogether – leaving them, effectively, in a pricey no-man’s land.
  • In a more specific report from The Score, Jason Wilson writes that the Giants have offered shortstop Christian Arroyo, outfielder Chris Shaw, right-hander Tyler Beede, and outfielder Heliot Ramos in exchange for Stanton (plus $250M of his remaining contract), but nothing remains imminent. You can read a bit on each of those prospects here.
  • But before you do, here’s the problem, there are some conflicting reports on who’s actually in the deal:
  • Your best guess is as good as mine, when reports are directly conflicting, though Mish has been pretty solid throughout this process. Though, for what it’s worth, Joe Frisaro (MLB.com) writes that the Giants haven’t actually finalized packages from either team yet, so it’s possible both guys are hearing their sources “correctly,” but just at different points in the negotiations.
  • In that same post, Frisaro writes that the Cardinals may be open to including either Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty in a deal, in addition to some young pitchers (Jack Flaherty and Sandy Alcantara are both mentioned). Although the money will ultimately define these packages, one thing is becoming more and more clear everyday: no team is getting the 2017 MVP for money only. These are mostly legit players/prospects being included in the proposals, and if that’s how things end up, the Marlins may actually do all right (well, they would do all right if they repurposed the saved money into other players, but I doubt that’s how this’ll play out).
  • Hunter Pence, ladies and gentleman:
  • And then Dexter Fowler for the zinger:
  • https://twitter.com/DexterFowler/status/938207264522907648

  • Fowler was promptly suspended by the Cardinals for using social media in the offseason when he should be training #TheCardinalWay (not really, but the fact that you believed it for a half-second …).
  • For what it’s worth, Jon Morosi is still guessing that Stanton ends up in San Francisco … but guesses that the longer this drags out, the more likely it is that the Dodgers are involved and that’s where he’ll end up:
  • And indeed, Jon Morosi is suggesting that the Dodgers are still involved (as recently as yesterday), but are not too serious yet.
  • And finally, here’s something that’s been bugging me:
  • I’m not saying Olney is wrong for pointing this out, but I’m saying it’s almost unbelievable ridiculous that the first tweet is necessary and the second one is true. Stanton earned a no-trade clause and probably forewent some money to include it. Imagine being a fan who wants a player to come to his team and earn $15-20M less for doing it. It’s ridiculous.
  • If I were Stanton’s reps (or, rather, the Players Association), I would tell Stanton to use his no-trade clause as loudly or quietly as he wants. Period.
  • (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

    written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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