It’s seemed a given for a while that Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton will be traded. The question has centered around what he might cost. We now have an answer.
Per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, it would cost the San Francisco Giants their starting second baseman, two top prospects, and they’d have to eat nearly all of Stanton’s remaining contract.
Giancarlo Stanton trade development: Source says #Marlins likely would accept offer of Panik, Beede and Shaw for Stanton alone — if #SFGiants committed to paying at least $250 million of the $295 million left on Stanton’s contract. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 30, 2017
The natural question here is, which team should be more excited about this potential deal? Frankly, neither should exactly be blown away by it.
Joe Panik, 27, is a former All-Star and Gold Glove award winner. Chris Shaw and Tyler Beede were ranked as San Francisco’s second and third prospects in 2017. The Giants have one of baseball’s lowest regarded farm systems. Sending two of the organization’s top prospects, along with a young player in Panik would be tough, especially when we factor in the remaining salary. Granted, Stanton, Buster Posey, and Madison Bumgarner does make for a good top of the roster. But filling out the rest of the roster would be a challenge.
As for the Marlins, the concern is the talent. Miami’s new ownership has made it known that it wants to cut costs. Here, we’re seeing just how committed the Marlins reportedly are to that. Shaw and Beede are good prospects in San Francisco, but neither is considered an elite prospect. Panik is better than a role player. But he’s a long way from being a star.
Granted, the nature of a fair trade is that neither team should feel great about it. But given that Stanton has also been tied to both the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, it seems like there are better fits out there.