Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports that, while the Red Sox have been mentioned as a possible suitor of Giancarlo Stanton, they are “an extreme long shot” to make a deal with Miami to acquire him.
The Marlins, Drellich’s source tells him, want both a haul of prospects and salary relief on the $295 million owed Stanton. That’s a steep enough price as it is, but it’s also probably a big bluff given that the Marlins were reported yesterday to be taking the position that, if they can’t trade Stanton, they’ll just cut payroll to the bone otherwise, showing that they’re content to field a terrible team to save money. Based on that, I suspect that, if they do trade Stanton, Miami will do so in a straight salary dump and get little in return.
If Boston -- or San Francisco or St. Louis or Los Angeles or any of the other teams interested -- wants Stanton, they should wait. The Marlins will ultimately let him go for surprisingly little, I suspect.
