Should the Chicago Cubs make a run at Giancarlo Stanton?
After passing him through trade waivers, the Miami Marlins are reportedly free to trade superstar slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Would the Chicago Cubs have an interest in such a deal?
The 2017 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Chicago Cubs. At 62-55, the Cubs are in first place in the National League Central. However, they only lead the weak division by 1.5 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. Their inconsistent play all season long has been an issue, but they are still an extremely talented team that could easily make a deep postseason run. Well, how about a major reinforcement?
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Miami Marlins superstar slugger Giancarlo Stanton has passed through trade waivers, meaning the Marlins are free to trade him to any MLB team. Here is some of what Passan wrote on the topic:
"“Every day that goes by with Giancarlo Stanton in a Miami Marlins uniform is a wasted opportunity for a franchise begging to be run properly,” Passan began. “For the next 16 days, the Marlins can present contending teams with an alluring possibility: Trade for the hottest hitter alive, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound machine whose 10 home runs in his last 11 games give him a Major League Baseball-leading 43 this season. Stanton cleared waivers on Sunday, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports, allowing the Marlins to deal him to any team through the end of August.”"
Also, despite his ridiculous contract, there has definitely been some interest in Stanton on the market.
"“The market for Stanton may not be as limited as believed, either, according to sources, despite the 10 years and $295 million remaining on his contract, Passan continued. “At least four teams have inquired about the possibility of trading for him, sources said, and talks on a potential Stanton deal with one team before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline had progressed to the point where the sides were exchanging names of players who could come back to Miami in return.”"
We do not have any indication who any of those teams may be, but why not the Chicago Cubs? The Cubs have already made significant additions to their team prior to the MLB trade deadline, bringing Jose Quintana, Alex Avila and Justin Wilson into the mix. However, Stanton would come in and be an immediate difference maker.
Stanton is the hottest hitter in baseball and is hitting an incredible .283/.374/.640 with an MLB-leading 43 homeruns. Just imagine the middle of the Cubs order with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hitting 2,3,4. That would simply be unfair.
But the contract…
However, any trade involving Stanton will be extremely complicated. As Passan mentioned, he is still owed $295 million over the next ten years. According to Spotrac, Stanton’s contract jumps from $14.5 million to $25 million next season and $26 million in 2019 and 2020.
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Stanton then has a player option for each of the next seven seasons, ranging everywhere from $25 million to $32 million. Basically, as soon as 2021 hits, Stanton can choose to hit free agency any time that he wants. However, he can simply opt in year after year and collect absolutely massive money. This is a win-win deal for the player.
In fact, this is probably the most player-friendly contract in Major League Baseball. Stanton is incredibly, but his contract is downright ugly.
Long-term issues
So yes, the Chicago Cubs trading for Stanton would be amazing. He would immediately make them among the most powerful contenders not only in 2017 but for the foreseeable future. However, the Cubs are already loaded with impact offensive talent. Do they really want to use that kind of money to trade for Stanton?
With MLB luxury tax rules only getting more and more strict, signing Stanton would not only severely limit the team in free agency going forward, it may hurt their ability to lock up guys like Bryant and Rizzo down the line. I mean, how many players making $30+ million a year can one team have? The answer: not many.
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Any deal involving Stanton would be extremely complicated and could legitimately hurt the Chicago Cubs down the line. However, I think we can all agree that it would be a lot of fun. What do you say, Theo, are you ready to go all in? We will find out soon enough.