An NL Central Team Aggressive to Add Stanton
With the divisional power shifting hard to the favor of the Chicago Cubs, the St Louis Cardinals are looking to find a way back towards relevancy. To do it, they are looking to add the most potent bat in the game today – Giancarlo Stanton.
It is expected that with the new ownership group in Miami, which includes former New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, many of the Marlins will not be back with the team. Knowing that the team lost $70 million in 2017, and facing a rebuild, Stanton doesn’t want to go through that losing.
“I don’t want to rebuild … I’ve lost for seven years,” Stanton told FanRag Sports.
That has sparked the rumors that Stanton will be shopped, and even though he has a HUGE contract (signed a 13 year $325 million deal, $295 still remaining) he will command a rather large return. That return, according to Jon Heyman, is willing to be paid by the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and the hated Cardinals.
Jon continued to point out that the Cardinals could offer up the likes of Alex Reyes, Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver, and Sandy Alcantara – all pieces that would fit in nicely if the Marlins do rebuild. The Cardinals have not been secretive that they covet a middle of the order bat, and with their outfield in a bit of a flux, Stanton would be a welcomed addition to St Louis.
The Cubs have managed to hold Stanton to a .940 OPS over the years, so of course, he would be a threat. He would add a whole other dynamic to a Cardinals lineup which was handled by the Cubs pitching staff for the most part in 2017. Adding a bat like that would certainly have made the 2017 race a lot tighter.
