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In an interview with Yahoo! Sports on Monday night, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton fired some mild shots at his team’s front office despite the club’s unlikely postseason chase in 2014.
“Five months,” he said, “doesn’t change five years.”…
“We’ve definitely done better than anyone thought we would do,” Stanton said. “At the same time, we’re still not where we need to be to keep playing beyond the designed schedule. …I want to be the only game on TV at the end of the day.”
While Stanton’s words should hardly echo like his thunderous homers, they will inevitably revive trade talk that has surrounded the slugger since he Tweeted his frustration with the Marlins’ fire sale after the 2012 season. And though fans of every other in the Majors will now, understandably, clamor for their clubs to acquire Stanton for some lousy package of undesirable prospects and well-seasoned scrubs, it still very little sense for the Marlins to trade Stanton this offseason if they have any real interest in winning.
This year’s Marlins have remained on the fringes of playoff contention despite losing ace Jose Fernandez to Tommy John surgery in early May. The difference between Fernandez and his replacements alone would likely have the club within a game of a Wild Card right now if the young righty stayed healthy.
Remember Jose Fernandez? (PHOTO: Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports)
And since Fernandez should return in 2015, along with the rest of the Marlins’ improving young core, the team appears to have a legitimate shot at contention next season.
That would mean taking on Stanton’s significant arbitration raise, sure. But even if Stanton gets an unprecedented $10 million raise in arbitration, the Marlins could still easily wind up with the lowest payroll in the National League. And a real chance at winning — and the spoils that come with it — seem worth risking a short uptick in payroll for even the most miserly club.
Of course, some team could blow the Marlins away with a package of young players certain to usher the club into contention without Stanton. Ultimately, it always depends on the deal. But unless someone goes crazy, it seems like the Marlins will be best-served hanging onto Stanton for at least the start of the 2015 season to see if they can compete.
Teams trading for players during their final seasons before free agency do not receive compensatory draft picks if the player leaves. But as long as Stanton is dealt before Opening Day, 2016, the acquiring club will stand to net a sandwich-round pick if and when he signs elsewhere. And, of course, getting Stanton any time before his free agency gives his new team an exclusive shot at negotiating a contract extension.
So if Stanton stays healthy, the Marlins stand to get a huge haul for him anytime between now and April, 2016. No matter what he has to say about his club’s front office, his club’s front office should know better than to deal him this offseason unless the return is overwhelming.