Giancarlo Stanton Reportedly Available Via Trade; Should Red Sox Pursue?
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- There's no more electrifying player in Major League Baseball right now than Giancarlo Stanton.
The 6-foot-6 masher of baseballs has been on fire, hitting 10 home runs in his last 11 games and putting himself on pace to record the first 60-home run season in baseball since 2001. (UPDATE: With another homer on Tuesday night, it's now 11 homers in 12 games.)
And apparently ... he's available via trade.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan wrote a thought-provoking story on Tuesday afternoon which noted that Stanton cleared waivers, thus opening the door for any MLB team to trade for the 27-year-old who is under contract through 2028.
"The market for Stanton may not be as limited as believed, either, according to sources, despite the 10 years and $295 million remaining on his contract," Passan wrote. "At least four teams have inquired about the possibility of trading for him, sources said, and talks on a potential Stanton deal with one team before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline had progressed to the point where the sides were exchanging names of players who could come back to Miami in return."
An impetus for such a franchise-altering trade, Passan suggests, is the forthcoming change in ownership. Trading that contract could give the new ownership group a chance to essentially start from scratch. (The Marlins are 487-601 since 2011 and have just five winning seasons since 1998.)
And with Stanton's value as a player being perhaps higher than it ever has been, it's not unreasonable to believe the Marlins might consider some proposals prior to the waiver trade deadline at the end of August.
This being Boston, locally we're left to wonder if the Red Sox might actually pursue this option.
On the one hand, it makes a lot of sense. The Red Sox have lacked power for the entire season, ranking dead last in the AL in home runs and 14th in slugging percentage. The allure of adding a beast who hits 43 homers per 162 games played is obvious.
On the other hand, there is the obvious matter of the price to acquire such a player. While Stanton's mammoth contract should limit the number of top-tier younger players required to be involved in a deal, it would still stand to reason that Miami would only make this trade in order to build for the future with affordable, young talent.
From the Red Sox' perspective, that might include any combination of:
Andrew Benintendi (23 years old, arbitration eligible in 2020, free agent in 2023)
Mookie Betts (24 years old, arbitration eligible in 2018, free agent in 2021)
Xander Bogaerts (24 years old, rbitration eligible in 2018, free agent in 2020)
Eduardo Rodriguez (24 years old, arbitration eligible in 2019, free agent in 2022)
Rafael Devers (20 years old)
Obviously, to fans who have grown to support these highly talented young players in Boston, the idea of shipping one or two of them out of town is not necessarily palatable. That's understandable.
Yet for comparison purposes, here are some career numbers:
Stanton: .268/.359/.552, .911 OPS, 251 HRs, 633 RBIs in 942 games
Betts: .295/.352/.488, .840 OPS, 72 HRs, 280 RBIs in 468 games
Benintendi: .282/.358/.456, .814 OPS, 19 HRs, 81 RBIs in 143 games
Bogaerts: .284/.337/.409, .745 OPS, 47 HRs, 264 RBIs in 582 games
Obviously with 942 games played, the home run and RBI totals are going to be higher. But the point is this: Stanton is, quite demonstrably, the real deal. He is a legitimate throwback power hitter who ranks fourth all time in at-bats-per-home-run. (At 13.59, he trails only Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.)
So, if the Red Sox were to make this trade, it might take one or two of those all-star-caliber players, plus a $300 million commitment to a single player. That's a whole lot of eggs in one basket.
But, if you've watched Stanton launch any of these bombs in recent years and in recent weeks, then you can understand the appeal.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
