MLB Trade Rumors: Will the Marlins actually (finally) trade Giancarlo Stanton?

Prepare the hot take canon to begin firing Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors — perhaps some that make a little sense.

The middle of the baseball season is here, which means trade rumors are going to be picking up steam unlike any other time of the year. Some of the rumors make sense and will develop into the big deals that make up the deadline each year. Those rumors also breed rumors of even larger deals, and every year there’s at least one blockbuster player who won’t be traded but will inevitably be thrown into the mill.

Giancarlo Stanton isn’t new to this club so it should come as little surprise that his name is circling the rumor drain again. This time, however, there seems to be some plausible points in support of trading him.

But aren’t there always.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe speculates that should Stanton hit the trade block (he won’t), then the Phillies seem like a sensible landing spot. It’s borderline ludicrous to think the Marlins would move Stanton — the face of their franchise — but there are points to be made that make sense.

• Stanton’s contract is mammoth and the team’s sale leaves that up in the air
• The Phillies have a wealth of top prospects to make the deal happen
• Oh they also have actual wealth — as in they have a ton of money to spend and offer

None of that insinuates a guarantee that a trade will happen. It does, however, highlight how a trade that seemingly makes no sense in scope can actually happen in reality. The idea of the Marlins trading their home run ambassador to the rest of the league, feels preposterous. Miami needs to consider their place though and perhaps an approach like the Cubs isn’t a bad one to dominating the NL East. They have stars in the making, most notably Christian Yelich, who the team can build around. Add to that a slew of prospects who can be called up and added to the mix over the next few years — not to mention all of the money saved on Stanton’s contract — and all of a sudden this isn’t that crazy of an idea.

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But that’s just how things go this time of the year. Big names with big contract are rumored as parts in big deals. It often never happens but there’s no reason to say it never will.