The Miami Marlins are apparently anxious for Giancarlo Stanton to make a decision about his future.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald on Tuesday that back in October, the Marlins told Stanton to either waive his no-trade clause and accept a deal to another team, or stay in Miami and be the only star on a team with a low payroll.
The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have reportedly made trade offers to the Marlins for Stanton and are both said to have the most interest in acquiring him, though the 28-year-old slugger is thought to still prefer a trade to his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. Stanton has reportedly given the Marlins a list of teams he'd accept a trade to; besides the Dodgers, it's not clear who might also be on that list.
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Other unknown teams besides the Cardinals, Giants, and Dodgers are also reportedly pushing for Stanton "to varying degrees," according to Spencer.
Stanton, the reigning National League MVP, has previously stated he'd be willing to remain in Miami on the condition the team addressed its starting pitching in a big way this offseason.
The Marlins, who received new owners this October when a group led by future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and billionaire businessman Bruce Sherman bought the club from Jeffrey Loria, are reportedly looking to shrink payroll to $90 million next season after finishing 2017 with a payroll slightly north of $117 million, per SpoTrac.
The easiest path to trim the payroll without sacrificing other young, controllable stars like Christian Yelich and/or Marcell Ozuna - who have both been the subject of rumors already this offseason - would likely be by trading Stanton and the $295 million left on his record contract, even if that meant eating a large portion of his deal.
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Other large contracts currently on the Marlins' payroll include injured pitchers Wei-Yin Chen and Edinson Volquez, third baseman Martin Prado, and second baseman Dee Gordon.
All four of those players are set to earn over $10 million in 2018, while Stanton is set to earn $25 million.
