MLB Trade Rumor Buy or Sell: Marlins planning to keep Stanton, core players?
One Marlins executive says team plans to keep their core players rather than trade them away
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
Welcome to CBSSports.com's Rumor Buy Or Sell. With the July 31 trade deadline slowly approaching, we'll break down any various trade rumors that come your way during the summer months.
The Rumor: Despite being well out of the postseason race, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told reporters Sunday the club is not planning to trade away their core players at the deadline. From CBS Miami:
"It's not stopping calls from coming in," said Hill. "It's been fairly consistent, with people checking in to see where we're at to see if we may be open to expanding the players we're talking about. But we haven't put any of those guys in play."
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"The relievers are more trade deadline-centric," Hill told reporters. "You're going to get value for those guys. You want to take advantage of the deadline. Those other guys are controllable."
The Marlins have traded setup man David Phelps and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in recent weeks, so they're not completely opposing to selling. They'll move their role players prior to the deadline for sure. The core players are staying put, according to Hill.
The Background: The Marlins are 44-52 overall this season and 11 games back of the second wild card spot with seven teams ahead of them. Contention is not happening this year. Baseball's second longest postseason drought -- the Marlins haven't been to the playoffs since winning he 2003 World Series -- is going to get one year longer this season.
Because they're out of the race and because the farm system is devoid of talent, there's been talk the Marlins could begin another rebuild by trading away their best young players while their value is sky high. Specifically, players like Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Justin Bour, Dan Straily, and J.T. Realmuto would all fetch pretty nice trade packages.
Would trading those players away hurt? Of course. Stanton is literally the greatest player in franchise history. You don't move a player like that without thinking long and hard about it. Furthermore, Yelich is signed affordably through 2022, and all those other players are years away from free agency. Keeping them and building around them going forward is a viable option.
Also, keep in mind the Marlins themselves are in the process of being sold. There have been a few hiccups along the way, though it seems like only a matter of time until a deal gets done. A prospective buyer might not want to take over a franchise that has already traded its best players and is facing a long rebuild. Keeping those players could make the team more attractive to buyers.
The Verdict: Hard sell. Hard, hard sell. My guess is Hill is just trying posturing and trying to create leverage. After all, what good does coming out and saying "Yeah, we're willing to trade Stanton" do anyway? Fans don't want to hear it, first of all. The Marlins have to give off the impression that they do not want to trade these players, even if they do. That gives them some leverage.
Unless the new owner comes in and pumps a ton of money into the big league roster, it's difficult to see how the Marlins will contend in the near future despite having a pretty nice young core. You can do a heck of a lot worse than having Stanton, Yelich, and Ozuna running around the outfielder, and Realmuto calling the shots behind the plate. The Marlins aren't going to give these players away. But not being open to trading them? I don't buy it for a second.
