MLB Trade Rumors: 5 teams who have what it takes to trade for Giancarlo Stanton

The Miami Marlins are hellbent on trading superstar Giancarlo Stanton this winter; now it’s time to find a partner.

Fans of the Miami Marlins might be confused by the trade rumors swirling around their team. Didn’t they just get a new owner? Weren’t the penny-pinching ways of Jeffrey Loria supposed to end with the sale of the team to Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter?

Ha ha. So naive, Marlins fans.

The 2017 season has only been over a week, and the new owners are already getting ready to gut what is actually a pretty good roster. National League MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton’s name has been popping up in trade rumors since the middle of the summer, and those rumors are only getting juicer by the day as the offseason gets ready to kick off.

Sherman and Jeter want a fresh start financially, and that means they need to deal with Stanton’s looming back-loaded contract. If he does not exercise his opt-out after the 2020 season, the Marlins will owe Stanton nearly $300 million over the next ten years. They just can’t afford that type of coin.

It makes sense for the Marlins and Stanton to have a clean break this offseason instead of hanging onto him for another season or two. It’s just prolonging the inevitable at this point. The Marlins have no pitching staff and will not be able to build a winner around their star. Stanton, for his part, has avoided complaining too much as the losses mount. It’s time for both parties to start over.

Stanton’s contract does limit which teams are able to trade for him, but these five have the young players to interest the Marlins new owners and the financial means to absorb most of what’s left on the current deal.

5. Chicago Cubs

In the early churning of the rumor mill, the Chicago Cubs are not a team that has been linked to Stanton and the Marlins, but they definitely have to be considered more of a realistic destination than the San Francisco Giants who have no good, young players or prospects to offer. The Cubs are loaded with solid young hitters like Javy Baez, Ian Happ Albert Almora and Kyle Schwarber.

The Cubs youngsters are all highly thought of around baseball, but none of them have the MVP potential of a hitter like Stanton. Theo Epstein will have to do deep reconnaissance on how aggressively his rivals in St. Louis and the rest of the National League are pursuing Stanton. Never count out the Cubs when it comes to a blockbuster trade, because Epstein and his front office refuse to allow their love for their homegrown players and prospects get in the way of a big trade. While it is more likely the Cubs just save up their money to make a big offer to Bryce Harper next winter, they cannot be counted out of the Stanton sweepstakes.

The Giants were mentioned as a potential contender for Stanton. They do have the need, but do not have much to trade. The Houston Astros and the New York Yankees are interesting teams to consider. They both have the talent to trade and money to burn. Really, I just want to see what Stanton can do in a bandbox like Minute Maid Park or Yankee Stadium.