The San Francisco Giants have agreed to take Giancarlo Stanton. Now they have to get Giancarlo Stanton to agree to be a Giant.
And that has always been the hardest part of this deal.
General manager Bobby Evans (speaking on KNBR 680) said the Giants and Miami Marlins have agreed on the framework of a deal that would send Stanton and the $295 million sticker on his carry-on bag to The Thing On King, which means that both teams have put the public onus on Stanton if this deal doesn’t happen.
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Which I suspect Stanton is fine with carrying. There is no indication, though, that he either is or isn’t interested in anything other than a landing spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are better and reside closer to his ancestral home in Panorama City. Until he decides to come off his geographical preference, or the Dodgers announce they aren’t interested in him at the Marlins’ adjusted price tag, or he just decides he’d rather stay in Miami and try again next year, that’s where the issue resides.
The Giants want an answer by Monday, though, because they want to pivot in time for the winter meetings in Orlando. If Stanton doesn’t want San Francisco, they have other fish they need to fry, because standing pat with the worst power-hitting team in the game isn’t going to play well. The days of hiding behind their pitching staff are over; the game has changed into a zero-sum game where the Three True Outcomes are the new orthodoxy, and the Giants cannot sell the good old days now that they are truly good and old.
In short, the Giants and Marlins have done the easy part – agreeing with each other. Now comes the real work of making Stanton see the wisdom of resuscitating a moribund batting order one big fly at a time.
Frankly, were I Larry Baer, I’d consider hiring Stephen Curry and Draymond Green from the Warriors for a couple of days and putting on that Hamptons hard-sell that worked so well 18 months ago. The customers have gotten a nose full of Stanton, and that comforting bakery smell won’t go far without some actual baked goods.