Giancarlo Stanton will not end up with the Giants

Trade talks are heating up between the Marlins and Giants around Giancarlo Stanton, but a deal is still far from being done.

The Marlins are in a tough spot. Team Jeter needs to gut the payroll fast, but Stanton has a no-trade clause in his contract. Yhe Marlins can’t absorb the $250 million they owe Stanton, the Giants seem willing to eat most or all of that contract but Giancarlo Stanton wants to be a Dodger.  But the Dodgers don’t need an outfielder and definitely don’t want to pick up any part of the Marlon’s tab.

It’s Stanton’s call and one with his no-trade clause he can decide where to continue sending rocket shots out of for several years, guaranteed a generous paycheck. The Giants are a storied franchise, often a contending ball club, but no so much recently and not so much for the next four to ten years, even with Giancarlo in the lineup.

It’s no fun holding a weakened franchise on one’s shoulders; just ask Mike Trout.  Beyond that, the Giants may not threaten the Dodgers’ run for the pennant, but they are a divisional rival and the teams face each other often and often in moments when a win or loss actually could make a difference.  Does Stanton want to be a spoiler?  Probably not.

Then, let’s acknowledge that life in LA, like life in Miami, is of a different texture than life in San Francisco, a lovely fog-bound sleepy old lady.

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The best arguments for going to the Giants are pretty thin. Their ballpark is cool. Guys with retrieving dogs float in McCovey Cove, ready to chase down Stanton’s blasts. It’s not the Marlins.

That’s pretty much it, and since Stanton can stay in Miami for as long as he likes or until a better deal (probably not St. Louis) comes along, he has room to let the Dodgers think about what he could bring to the lineup (just book tickets for L.A. in late October).

Hot stove rumors are almost as good as real baseball, but this one sounds like a non-starter.