Price may force Bombers’ hand
Deal could be too good to pass up
THE question that has mattered most — by far the most — in the Marlins’ saga in trying to trade Giancarlo Stanton is: Just how desperate are they to move as much of the $295 million he is owed over the next 10 years? Because if it is just mildly desperate, then if they do not get what they want from a team to which Stanton is willing to go, then the Marlins could just try again at the July trade deadline or next offseason.
But if the answer is extremely desperate, well, in the world of always follow the money, that is how suddenly the Yankees are in play to land the NL MVP.
Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter purchased a Marlins team that was $400 million in debt, and all indications are the only way they can address that in a significant way is to move as much of Stanton’s money as possible. But Stanton complicated that by invoking his no-trade clause to quash completed trades with the Cardinals and Giants, who both announced that fact Friday and thus removed themselves from this sweepstakes.
Stanton’s preferred destination is the Dodgers, the team for which he rooted growing up in Southern California. But he also said he would accept a trade to the Yankees and, according to Craig Mish of SiriusXM, the Astros and Cubs as well. Thus, the Yanks are not alone in seeing if they can take advantage of the Marlins being at such a disadvantage and get a sweetheart deal for a great player in his prime.
The Yankees are essentially the Accidental Suitors. They were not pursuing outfielders or righty power, yet here is this opportunity, and sources told The Post the Yankees were indeed now in regular contact with the Marlins and a trade was a possibility. One person briefed on trade discussions said the perfect storm of events essentially “pulled the Yankees” into serious discussions.
The Marlins, with little leverage, were still trying to maximize Stanton — get the best prospect package and remove as many dollars as possible. But as one executive who checked in on Stanton told The Post: “If the Marlins miss the window, they are going to die having this guy on the books. He can play poker with his no-trade clause. They can’t with their threats. They are never going to have a better season to trade him off of than the one he just had. If they don’t trade him now, they are [bleeped].”
A Yankees requirement in acquiring Stanton is that it would not prevent them from meeting their vow to get under the $197 million luxurytax threshold in 2018. Stanton would cost $25 million toward the luxury tax. The Yankees would want to ship Jacoby Ellsbury as an offset since he costs $21.86 million. But Ellsbury has a no trade clause and as of late Friday night had not been asked to waive it.
A combination of Starlin Castro and Chase Headley would cost $21.6 million toward the payroll. If the Marlins took that duo and paid down Stanton about $4 million a year, then the Yankees would be in the same situa- tion with the tax they are now. They can play Gleyber Torres at second and try to re-sign Todd Frazier to play third.
The Yankees also would not be willing to surrender top prospects, but one of Jeter’s main lieutenants, Gary Denbo, ran the Yankees’ minor league system the past few years and will be familiar with the team’s best secondand third-level prospects.
There are many similarities between the Stanton situation and when the Rangers had to trade Alex Rodriguez after the 2003 season. Texas had to eat $67 million of the $179 million the AL MVP was owed. That is a little over 37 percent. If the Marlins had to eat the same percentage, it would be roughly $109 million. Are they desperate enough to do anywhere near that much between swallowing contracts of players like Castro and Headley and eating a chunk of Stanton’s contract?
The Yankees went for ARod because Aaron Boone blew out his knee playing offseason pickup basketball, and Rodriguez had to move to third because Jeter was at short. Now, Jeter might trade Stanton to Boone.
If so, Stanton was the star the Yankees couldn’t resist because of the prices. They could rotate Stanton between the outfield and DH. They could team him with Aaron Judge, who so often has been compared to Stanton, and have the only players to reach 50 homers last year, which would deepen the lineup and make the Yankees more attractive for ticket buyers and TV viewers.
And as long as it did not negatively impact the luxurytax goals, the Yankees still would have room to add one, perhaps two starters, which was their main focus as the offseason began.
It really still is their main focus — they are going after pitching. But the level of Marlins desperation pushed Stanton within their grasp, and it is just not in the Yankees’ DNA to ignore a star of this magnitude, especially at a fraction of his actual worth.