With new management in place, the next move for the Miami Marlins is to trade superstar slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Here's the thing, though: trading him would be a huge mistake.
There are ways to achieve the frugal goal of a $90-million payroll the Marlins have reportedly set for themselves other than a trade that will turn off the fan base and force new president of baseball operations Derek Jeter to begin his Miami tenure on the wrong foot.
Let's break down the moves the Marlins can make instead of extraditing the most prolific slugger in MLB.
Projected 2018 payroll: $130.9 million
Decline Ichiro
Letting Ichiro Suzuki go is the simplest beginning and sheds a measly $2 million from the 2018 payroll.
The legendary outfielder is a part-time player and was below replacement level in his age-43 season. Now 44 years old, there's no point in the rebuilding Marlins to hold onto him any longer. Plus, Miami already capitalized on the future Hall of Famer collecting his 3,000th hit while wearing a Marlins uniform.
New 2018 payroll: $129.4 million
Trade Ziegler
Signing a 37-year-old reliever to a two-year contract last winter seemed like an odd move for the Marlins, and the deal hasn't aged well.
Brad Ziegler will be due $9 million this upcoming season. While the free-agent crop isn't especially deep all around, it does boast some premium relievers, so getting Ziegler out of town might not be easy and will have to wait until some of the offseason dust settles. A team that misses out on one of the premiere free-agent relievers may be willing to take a chance on Ziegler if the Marlins eat roughly $3 million of the deal.
New 2018 payroll: $123.4 million
Trade Gordon
Trading Dee Gordon had been rumored for a while under the previous regime.
Gordon is a cherished player on an attractive deal. The speedy second baseman led all of baseball in stolen bases last year, and is due just under $38 million over the next three years. This is the first option that would generate some sort of return for the Marlins and - so long as they don't receive a major leaguer in return - would shed nearly $11 million off the 2018 payroll.
New 2018 payroll: $112.6 million
Package Ozuna with Prado
Trading away Marcell Ozuna would hurt, sure. But if the Marlins plan to go through with a rebuild, trading away an outfielder with two more years of control makes the most sense.
Even further, Ozuna is a highly sought-after talent, and packaging him with the terrible contract of Martin Prado should be an option. By wRC+, Ozuna was the sixth-best outfielder in baseball this past season. If a team would like to add his final two years of arbitration eligibility to their lineup, then they're going to have to take on Prado's $28.5 million over the next two seasons.
Perhaps the Marlins cave slightly and subsidize Prado's final year of the deal. Either way, you're shedding upward of $20 million. Assuming Ozuna gets $10.9 million in arbitration, that's a $22.4 million reduction in projected payroll. Whatever is retained from Prado's 2019 season is a problem for future Marlins.
New 2018 payroll: $88.2 million
So, it's possible. The roster is still workable - it's no worse than it would be if the Marlins traded Stanton. And, perhaps even better, the trade of Gordon likely brings back some sort of prospect - which is more than you can say for Stanton and his mammoth contract.
There's just no conceivable way where Stanton, who possesses a no-trade clause, is actually worth more to the Marlins off of their roster. His contract is too rich to net a meaningful return. And, if the Marlins happen to become competitive again in the near future, Stanton and Christian Yelich will play integral roles.
