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Both the Giants and Cardinals have agreed to the "general framework" of a deal for Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, reports MLB Network's Jon Morosi Sunday. Because Stanton has a full no-trade clause in his contract, the 2017 NL MVP will have the final say in where he'll be playing next season.
San Francisco remains the likeliest destination for Stanton; the club is reportedly willing to eat a large portion of the $295 million owed to the slugger over the next ten seasons. According to Morosi, Miami would accept a package of Joe Panik, and top prospects Tyler Beede and Chris Shaw, for Stanton alone if the Giants absorbed at least $250 million. While this package seems light for a generational talent like Stanton, the salary relief in any given trade will certainly lower the Marlins' return. In fact, ESPN's Buster Onley reported earlier this week that adding more talent to the organization is not Miami's main priority in a Stanton deal.
Some rival evaluators who have spoken to the Marlins on Stanton say their sense is Miami's priority in trade proposals is moving his salary, and that adding talented players in return is the secondary concern.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 2, 2017
Yes, Stanton's contract is egregiously hefty, but this mindset (or at least, publicly expressing this mindset) is a bad look for new Marlins owner Derek Jeter. MLB Daily Dish's Mike Bates broke down Jeter's rough start in detail earlier this week.
While skepticism remains that Stanton will not accept a deal to St. Louis, the club continues to pursue the four-time All-Star. The Cardinals have a much deeper farm system than the Giants, and they are even willing to eat a larger portion of Stanton's contract than San Francisco, SiriusXM's Craig Mish reports. Mish adds that a potential Stanton deal with St. Louis is centered around starting pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara, the Cardinals' ninth ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline.