Giancarlo Stanton is destroying baseballs on a nightly basis for the Marlins, but a recent development opened some possibilities should Miami decide to trade the star outfielder.
Stanton cleared revocable waivers Sunday, multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan. This means the Marlins can trade him to any team through the end of August.
If a team had claimed Stanton, then the Marlins could have allowed him (and his huge contract) to go to that team or worked out a trade with the claiming club (and only that club). Now, with Stanton passing through waivers, any organization across Major League Baseball can engage in trade talks with Miami, and perhaps it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the slugger will be moved in the coming weeks.
Initially, it seemed like Stanton’s contract — he’s owed $295 million over the next 10 years — could prevent a trade, especially with his deal carrying a full no-trade clause. However, sources told Passan the market for Stanton might not be as limited as originally believed. In fact, sources told Passan that at least four teams have inquired about possibly trading for the 27-year-old, with one team even getting to a point where it exchanged names of players with Miami leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Of course, trading Stanton would signify the start of a massive rebuild in South Beach and would be difficult to explain to the fan base, especially with the franchise currently being sold to a group led by Derek Jeter. The four-time All-Star is owed a ton of money, sure, but he’s the Marlins’ biggest attraction and is in the midst of a monster season, launching a career-high 43 home runs in 115 games.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
