Roundtable: Picking the best landing spot for Giancarlo Stanton

Chris Cwik
·Staff writer
Giancarlo Stanton can pretty much choose his next team. (AP Photo)
Giancarlo Stanton can pretty much choose his next team. (AP Photo)

The Miami Marlins are just itching to trade reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton. There’s just one problem: Stanton has a no-trade clause, and won’t accept a deal unless he’s happy with his new club.

Getting a player to waive their no-trade clause isn’t unprecedented, but it does add an interesting wrinkle to the deal. If a team is a fringe contender, they have to figure out a way to convince Stanton to commit the next few years of his life to them.

Some teams have already taken that approach. Players from both the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have reached out to Stanton on social media with recruiting pitches for the slugger.

Those may not matter in the end, as rumor has it Stanton is hoping the Los Angeles Dodgers insert themselves into the conversation. And if Stanton is willing to wait, you know a mystery team or two could find a way to make a play for the slugger.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the situation, we asked our writers at Big League Stew to assume the role of the teams looking to get Stanton. They’ll have to make their best pitch to convince him to accept a deal and come on board.

We can’t be sure what argument Stanton needs to hear to accept a trade, but after the Dee Gordon trade Thursday, we know the Marlins are eager to cut payroll soon.

Let’s get into it:

Cardinals fans are often called the best in baseball. (AP Photo)
Cardinals fans are often called the best in baseball. (AP Photo)

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Giancarlo, after eight seasons with the Marlins, you deserve to be a part of the classiest organization in baseball. That is, undoubtedly, the St. Louis Cardinals. We are consistently great on the field, and are a model organization that other teams wish they could be. Not only that, but our superstars are beloved by our fans. Have you heard about our fans? Some say they are the best in baseball. We would agree.

OK, so you’re worried about us contending with the Chicago Cubs and upstart Milwaukee Brewers in the Central. That’s fair. But consider our recent history. Every time we’re counted out, we bounce back. We develop weak middle infielders into power-hitting MVP candidates. We always seem to have a pretty good farm system. And we, unlike your current team, have cash to spend in free agency.

Drop the worst run organization in the game and come to the best franchise in baseball. That’s what you deserve. (Chris Cwik)

The Giants have a strong history of winning recently. (AP Photo)
The Giants have a strong history of winning recently. (AP Photo)

SAN FRANCISO GIANTS
Giancarlo, the most important thing you need to know about us is that we have something called “even-year magic.” We can’t explain why or how it works. But we’ve won three World Series in even years since 2010, and for at least two of them, we were in no way the best or most talented team. This is just something that happens to us, and we want it to be something that just happens to you.

Just imagine hitting home runs in AT&T Park. We’d keep a special count of how many end up in the bay. We’d give it a special name and commission a silly animated graphic, and if you like bobbleheads, we’d give away a bobblehead of you hitting homers into the bay. We promise that it would even mostly look like you!

Also, despite our terrible record in 2017, our team isn’t terrible. We’ve got Brandon Belt at first, and he inexplicably looks like a baby giraffe. Hunter Pence is in the outfield, and he only *looks* like a crazy caveman. He’s actually a (probably) sane dude who enjoys Halloween costumes as much as you do! And there’s Buster Posey at catcher, and he’s not just awesome, he’s a grown man who calls himself “Buster.” If you come here, you can pick a new nickname for him. In fact, you can pick a new nickname for everyone on the team! Whatever you want! (Seriously, we’ll give you whatever you want.) So, Giancarlo, approve this trade and officially become a Giant, and become part of our unexplainable magic. (Liz Roscher)

The Dodgers are set up to be perennial contenders. (AP Photo)
The Dodgers are set up to be perennial contenders. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Mr. Stanton, before you is an opportunity to live out every dream and fulfill every goal you’ve had since first stepping on to a baseball field and developing into one of game’s best sluggers. By waiving your no-trade clause to join the Dodgers, not only will you be coming home to your beloved home state of California, but you’ll also be coming home a hero. You’ll have ample opportunities for endorsements and television appearances. Most importantly, this organization can provide an opportunity to win and continue winning until your contract expires after the 2027 season.

Exceeding the luxury tax is not something we long to do. Getting to this point means we’re making a commitment to essentially guarantee we’ll come near or cross that threshold every season in order to bring you in. But it’s a commitment we’re willing to make if you’re willing to commit to us.

There are other great benefits to you as well. You’ll get to make multiple trips to Colorado and Arizona each season. You’ll get to hit back-to-back with one of the fastest rising stars in baseball in Cody Bellinger. And here’s the big one: You won’t have to face Clayton Kershaw or Kenley Jansen anymore. The city of Angels opens its arms to you again. Never forget, there’s no place like home. (Mark Townsend)

The Red Sox could use a bit of power. (AP Photo)
The Red Sox could use a bit of power. (AP Photo)

BOSTON RED SOX
The most interesting and frustrating thing about the Stanton trade is that he has ultimate authority. We’ve talked about the Cardinals and Giants the last few weeks, and the Dodgers to a lesser degree. But there’s nothing to step Stanton from waking up tomorrow, calling up Derek Jeter and saying, “You know what? I re-considered, trade me to ….” Anywhere, really. Some teams wouldn’t want to take on the contract. So the mystery team is fully in play until it’s not.

And why not? Giancarlo, do what you want. But if I were the Boston Red Sox, I’d tell him the following: Don’t discount the East Coast. In fact, you might want to re-consider Boston. Not many cities will love you more than Boston would. Add yourself to our lineup and, oh boy, things get serious. We’re a World Series-caliber team immediately. The main knock on our 2017 team was that we couldn’t deliver the long ball. You’re the guy to fix that.

You might be thinking: Would the ball still fly out in Fenway? Especially all those line-drive homers? Most of ’em. A study by MLB.com says Fenway would only gobble up three homers. Small price to pay for the chance to be Boston’s next Big Papi. (Mike Oz)

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik