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Last week, we discussed how the Miami Marlins were unlikely to trade Giancarlo Stanton, in part because of the difficulty any team would have in trying to match the Marlins' likely high demands. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald took that approach one step further, citing a team source in saying that the Marlins have not even discussed trading Stanton internally.
Simply put, the Marlins "are not moving him," according to a source I spoke with. They haven't even "discussed" it internally. The team's plans calling for Stanton to start the season with the club and occupy the clean-up spot have "not changed at all," according to another source with knowledge of the Marlins' intentions.
And yet the speculation continues. The latest report indicates the Marlins have spoken to the Padres about Stanton. "Completely off base" and "totally ridiculous" was the response I received when I asked about it.
As mentioned before, the Marlins may listen to see if any team will offer an insane deal for the Fish, but the club has no incentive to make a trade this early into Stanton's time under team control. When you consider the team's history of having star-level players hang around during their arbitration years, this becomes even more obvious. The most pertinent example, that of Miguel Cabrera after the 2005 fire sale, showed the Marlins holding onto Cabrera until he entered his second season of arbitration before 2008. That represented two full seasons of Cabrera playing alongside the Marlins' newly acquired young core.
The Marlins retained quite a few other stars through arbitration during their time. Hanley Ramirez was signed to a long-term extension that kept his arbitration years relatively cheap. Dan Uggla stayed on until his sixth and final arbitration season. Cliff Floyd was traded in the middle of his final team control year in 2002. The Marlins are not shy about retaining players, even if there is a sense of inevitability with regards to their departure.
Right now, it is completely understandable for the Fish to not even consider a move, given their history and the leverage they hold over Stanton. Until his contract begins to grow, the Marlins have no need to trade him, especially with no team having a good enough haul for return.