Cardinals/Marlins Offseason Dance - Stanton Says Nope

[MinorLeagueGuy]

Plot twist: The Giants have the best offer on the table but Stanton really wants to play for the Cards.

The next M. Night movie

[MrCrowesGarden]

Stanton was really Jason Heyward all along.

[TimChopsula]

Over/Under on the page number of this thread when Stanton is traded: 116

5 pages in the 7 hours since this was posted. New over/under is 735.

[TimChopsula]

Game 6 thread hit 274 pages before being archived.

The new question: Will the Stanton Thread page-count surpass the Game 6 Thread page-count before the start of Spring Training?

[misterManager]

I'm thinking this thing is wrapped up within the next week or two tops. It's got the smell of some dominoes about to fall. But it's been the most fun I've had since like August with this team's prospects for the future. If that SF package is what's going over to Miami come Saturday or whenever, though, I better hear from the STL media that the problem was not the FO but Stanton being a human being with preferences and all of those soft factors. Such a weak package without them eating the 45M, so I'll be very very surprised if that's all that's changing hands.

[Fat Strat]

Two ways to look at this. The Giants have the inside track, so they get the first face-to-face. Which seems really bad for us. But if Stanton was a lock to accept a deal to SF, they wouldn't need to bother meeting with him face-to-face, would they? They would just finalize a deal and announce a press conference. I think the Giants feel like they have to try and sell Stanton's team on their ability to win. If they don't then Stanton becomes ours for the taking, unless another team swoops in, which seems highly unlikely at this point.

This might come down to whether Stanton wants to win or if he wants to live somewhere fun.

And I still think that if Stanton goes to SF, the Marlins will announce a Yelich to the Cards trade about a day later.

[Hoot45]

I just can't believe that Stanton cares so much more about where he is going to live that he would accept a deal that puts him on a team that doesn't look like it has much chance of competing absent some major spending +Stanton. Is losing in San Francisco that much better than losing in Miami? And are both options that much better than winning in St. Louis?

Based on 2018 Steamer projections, the rumored trade offer would be plus 5.3 WAR (Stanton), minus 1.6 WAR (Panik) --> net 3.7 wins to a team coming off a 64 win season. Plus the #2 and #3 top prospects (albeit from a bottom 5 farm system) headed the opposite direction. Stanton would be joining a roster with a 34 year old Hunter Pence, a 33 year old Denard Span, two stars headed towards the wrong side of 30 in Posey and Crawford, and a starting rotation where over half the innings came from guys over the age of 31.

Disclaimers: I know 2017 was a down year for the Giants and they're better than a 64-win team. And I'm also aware I'm a team of over 30-somethings player hater, so I'm more skeptical than most on the Giants putting together a miracle turnaround in the next few years.

My point is, why not just stay in Miami if you don't want to be in St. Louis and the Dodgers can't give Miami what they want? Stanton to San Francisco makes such little sense that I really think this "visit to SFG" news is more about pushing STL or LA a little closer to the finish line.

[MinorLeagueGuy]

Because Miami threatened to abandon Stanton around minor leaguers for the next 3 years, while SF would at least attempt to compete in a 2 wildcard setting.

[pioneer98]

Again, that makes NO sense. Unless the marlins have a tentative deal in place with ALL three teams and will let them all try and convince Stanton’s group that their team is the best of the group.

I would not be surprised at all if the Marlins had a tentative deal in place with multiple teams.

[Hoot45]

Because Miami threatened to abandon Stanton around minor leaguers for the next 3 years, while SF would at least attempt to compete in a 2 wildcard setting.

The Giants payroll for 2018 is already $166M, second highest in MLB. And from 2019-2021 (as of now) it is the highest in baseball. The MLB roster is looking awfully old and expensive. The farm system is thin. I'm not sure how they are going to compete for a Wild Card. Adding Stanton to a 64 win team, while trading away one of the younger bright players, isn't going to get you there.