Get ready, Dodger fans, a trade for Giancarlo Stanton might be the spark the Dodgers need to win the World Series in 2018. Picture this: Stanton in left, Chris Taylor in center, and Yasiel Puig in right. Should this dream outfield become a reality, the Dodgers will have flipped the script of the 2018 season.
There have been some trade talks between the Dodgers and the Marlins, but a deal isn’t close yet. The main concern, for any team looking to trade for Stanton, is the contract. Should Stanton not opt out of his contract through its entirety, he’ll be making $310 million, playing with the same team until his age 38 season. It’s a big contract, but when you hit 59 home runs, which he did in 2017, signing him long-term is worth it.
In order for any team to make a trade for the Marlins slugger, three things need to be considered; the contract, whether they have tradeable players and prospects, and what trading for Stanton means long term.
The Contract—$310 million dollars is a lot. There’s no other way to describe it. For the next ten years, Stanton will be making an average of 31 million a year, and not all teams can afford it.
The Dodgers can afford it.
The Marlins are unlikely to take on a majority of Stanton’s contract, given that they are headed towards a rebuild, but depending on what happens this offseason, the Dodgers payroll could either decrease or increase regardless of Stanton’s contract.
Los Angeles, being a big market in a massive city, are the perfect place for a super-star slugger like Stanton.
The Prospects—I’m sentimental. The idea of trading away players from a team that almost won the World Series together is borderline heart-breaking, but I’m always reminded of the bigger picture. This isn’t just an outfielder, this is Giancarlo Stanton. He’s one of the best sluggers baseball has ever seen, and at the end of the day, a World Championship is the ultimate goal. Stanton can help the Dodgers get there.
Should Miami agree on a trade with another club, they would officially enter a period of rebuilding. This means that the Marlins will most likely be looking for prospects, as opposed to players already in the majors, in a trade package. Los Angeles has been known not to trade away their top prospects. In recent years, Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger sat atop the list of some of the Dodgers’ best prospects. It’s safe to say, not trading those three, among others, was a good call.
Of the Dodgers’ current prospects, Walker Buehler, who made his MLB debut earlier this year, seems like the only definite untouchable. Possibly headed to Miami could be Double-A Catcher Keibert Ruiz and/or outfielder Yusniel Diaz. Though nothing has been even close to confirmed, Ruiz and Diaz are two of the Dodgers best prospects that could end up being great for the Marlins in two or three years.
Other teams have deep farm systems, but not every team will be able to put together a trade package that Miami accepts, and not all of them can take on Stanton’s contract.
The Dodgers have the payroll flexibility to pay Stanton, and they have the prospects. The last thing to be considered is this; how does Stanton fit into the club long term?
The Long Term—The Dodgers plan to be good for a long time. That is a fact that was proven this past October. The Dodgers plan to be good, and it’s easy to believe that they will be, based off of what the world saw this year. There are a handful of teams out there that would be great fits for Stanton, and virtually all of those teams have the payroll and the prospects.
But there is one, final question that begs to be asked: How does Stanton fit in with the team in which he will play for, for the foreseeable future?
The Dodgers have Puig in right field, and unless he’s traded, he will be the Dodgers’ everyday right fielder. Stanton, though, could become one of the best left fielders baseball has ever seen.
Then there’s this, which is probably the most important aspect of a trade for Stanton—he wants to play here. The Dodgers have a reputation for signing players and trading for players that want to be in Los Angeles. Their clubhouse atmosphere is a passionate, and positive one.
In order to simplify this, and make sense of it, we have to ask ourselves these questions.
Do the Dodgers need to trade for or sign another slugger?
Yes.
Can they afford Stanton’s contract?
Yes.
Is there a place for him in the outfield?
Yes.
Does Stanton want to play here?
Yes.
Should the Dodgers trade for Stanton, given that everything falls into place?
Yes.
A trade for Giancarlo Stanton makes sense, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but it creates a logical opportunity.
The Dodgers were great in 2017. Stanton makes them better. All we can do now is wait and see.
(FOLLOW SARAH ON TWITTER: @SARAHMANINGER)
Can’t really argue with any of your points Sarah. The longer this goes on, the more I like the idea of trading for Stanton. Just do me one favor, don’t include Keibert Ruiz in the deal. Let’s make Buehler and Ruiz the only two untouchables. For a 19 year old kid who plays the important position of catcher to be, by some reports, just about major league ready defensively and who hits the way he has shown, he could be our catcher for years. I realize I may be in the minority here. Most Dodger fans would probably be happy to give up a kid who will start the year in Tulsa for a guy like Stanton, but keep in mind, Stanton will likely opt out in 3 years. Ruiz could be here for a lot longer.
Personally, I’d probably build a deal around Verdugo and a low-level prospect or two, but that’s just me.
I’d be up for that, especially if we could get them to take back McCarthy’s or Kazmir’s contract. Did you see where Morosi tweeted that the F.O. has more or less let it be known that Grandal is available. Question is, will they get a good enough offer to pull the trigger. The certainly won’t just give him away.
Dennis, I can see Taylor moving to 2b in 2019, who would you rather see in cf then, Joc, Toles, or Verdugo?
Jeff, I hadn’t heard that. Grandal has had a reputation over the past few years as a good pitch framer, that seems to be a skill set that is sought after these days. I think there would be a fair number of teams interested in him. This would also free up 7 mil plus to put towards a certain slugger. Now if we can get the Marlins to pick up around 5 to 7 mil per year, it would put a pretty big dent in the salary. I read the other day Arod forced his way to the yanks. The Rangers picked up 40 percent of his contract, if we could only get the Marlins to pay that kind of money.
With only one year left on his contract Grandal would have to go to a contender. The Nats and Twins might be possibilities. Normally I would say that if we can’t get something decent for him I would keep him, but as I’ve said before, I’m concerned about his reaction to being demoted in a walk year. Grandal is a passionate guy – that’s a good thing when it’s positive passion but could be very destructive if it were negative feelings. With regard to Stanton using his leverage to force a deal to the Dodgers, Jeter strikes me as being a very stubborn guy and if he thought Stanton was calling the shots, he might just hang on to him rather than being forced to make a deal he didn’t like.