MLB trade rumors: Cardinals to be big contender for Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton

The Cardinals are expected to be in the running to acquire Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

Along with the Cardinals, the Giants and Phillies are reportedly interested in trying to swing a deal for the 27-year-old Stanton, who hit a league-best 59 home runs last year and is still set to make an eye-popping $295 million over the next 10 seasons. But, Heyman says the Cardinals may fit the bill for Stanton for a couple reasons.

First, Heyman says the Cardinals “certainly have the type of prospects that would interest the Marlins” in doing a deal and that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Cardinals are willing to talk about one of their very best pitching prospects for Stanton. The prospects Heyman mentions are mainly the Cardinals’ top arms in “Alex Reyes, Sandy Alcantara, Jack Flaherty and others.”

Second, Heyman cites the Cardinals “history of winning,” even though they missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. Since 2000, the Cardinals have won two of their 11 World Series titles, made the Fall Classic four times and have reached the NLCS nine times in that span.

However, there are a few questions, with the biggest one being: Will Stanton waive his full no-trade clause? Also, Stanton has said he doesn’t want to play for a rebuilding franchise and would reportedly prefer to play on one of the two coasts, but will he want to play for a franchise in the Midwest? Moreover, will the Cardinals be able to take on his gigantic contract?