The Miami Marlins are close to a trade that would send Giancarlo Stanton, the NL MVP and the face of the franchise, to the New York Yankees, a source confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Saturday morning.
If completed, this would bring an end to one of baseball's top offseason storylines, one with significant twists and turns as recently as Friday evening.
It would also be by far the biggest and most controversial move of the new ownership group's young tenure: a team run by CEO Derek Jeter, a former Yankees captain who played 20 seasons and won five World Series with them, trading perhaps the best player in franchise history to his old team in what is seen largely as a salary-dump move.
The Yankees would pair Stanton with Home Run Derby winner Aaron Judge, arguably the two premier power bats in baseball, in an already-deep lineup. As a rookie in 2017, Judge hit 52 homers, second in baseball behind only Stanton (59). The Yankees' season ended in Game 7 of the ALCS, one win shy of the World Series.
Among the hurdles to be cleared before the deal is finalized: Stanton waiving his no-trade clause, which he is expected to do.
It's not clear which players are coming to Miami in the deal, though the New York Post reported that second baseman Starlin Castro is one of the pieces. Castro, an All-Star for the fourth time in 2017, could slot in as a replacement for the recently traded Dee Gordon, unless the Marlins also seek to trade him.
It's worth noting that several new high-ranking members of the Marlins' front office have a high degree of familiarity with New York's farm system, well beyond the top-tier prospects. Most notably, Gary Denbo is the Marlins' vice president of player development and scouting after serving in a similar role with the Yankees in recent years.
For the Marlins, trading Stanton is mostly a cost-cutting measure as they look to lower payroll for 2018 and beyond. Stanton _ who signed a 13-year, $325 million contract in November 2014, when Jeffrey Loria owned the team _ starts to make his big money this season, when his salary jumps to $25 million. He is due to make at least $295 million over the next decade, but can opt out of his contract after the 2020 season.
It's not clear how much of Stanton's salary the Marlins will have to pay as part of the teams' agreement.
As they reshape their roster _ and the organization _ the financially challenged Marlins decided doing so with the heavy burden of Stanton's deal was unworkable. Under Jeter's leadership, Stanton's fate over the past month-plus became one of the top two storylines of baseball's offseason (alongside the arrival of two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday).
On Thursday, the Marlins traded Gordon to the Mariners. On Saturday, perhaps Stanton. More trades of the team's top players are expected.
The Marlins discussed Stanton with a reported eight teams, and had agreements with San Francisco and St. Louis, long seen as the most likely destinations. But when Stanton did not waive his no-trade clause to go to those teams, they both announced Friday they were moving on.
