Report: Marlins have deal in place to trade Giancarlo Stanton to New York Yankees

The Marlins have reached a deal to trade high-priced slugger Giancarlo Stanton to the New York Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

The trade, which has not been confirmed by either team, would come 10 years after the Marlins traded another of their superstars, Miguel Cabrera, and marks the first bold stroke of new owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter.

And it would give the Yankees a dynamic one-two power punch of Stanton and Aaron Judge, the only two players in the Majors to hit at least 50 home runs last season.

It is uncertain what the Yankees will be sending the Marlins in return. But the New York Post reported that the Marlins would receive veteran second baseman Starlin Castro in a package of players and prospects. Castro could take over at second for the Marlins, who traded Dee Gordon to Seattle on Thursday.

The trade would be contingent on Stanton waiving his no-trade clause and approving the deal, something he refused to do when the Marlins worked out trades with the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. But there have been reports that Stanton would accept a deal to the Yankees.

The Marlins have been eager to trade last year’s home run champion as a way of lowering payroll and rebuilding a franchise that has not enjoyed a winning season since 2009, the longest drought in the Majors.

Stanton is owed $295 million over the next 10 seasons — a financial burden new ownership refused to bear.

The 28-year-old slugger is coming off a season in which he led the majors with 59 homers and 132 RBI and became the first Marlin to receive National League Most Valuable Player honors, edging out the Reds’ Joey Votto in one of the closest votes ever.

Stanton would become just the third reigning MVP ever to be traded. The Philadelphia Athletics traded Eddie Collins to the Chicago White Sox after he won the AL MVP in 1914. The Texas Ranger traded Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees after he received the same honor in 2003.

Among current athletes on South Florida’s four pro sports teams, only Udonis Haslem of the Heat (15 seasons), Dolphins long snapper John Denney (13) and Dolphins defensive lineman Cameron Wake (9) have been with their teams longer than the eight Stanton has spent with the Marlins.

But unlike Haslem, who was a member of three NBA title teams, Stanton hasn’t experienced even one winning season with the Marlins, whose drought of eight consecutive losing seasons is the longest in the majors. The Marlins haven’t reached the postseason since 2003.

The Marlins’ new owners are expected to slash payroll to about $90 million while rebuilding a farm system that ranks as one of the worst in the majors in terms of prospects. But Stanton had said he didn’t want to suffer through a rebuild that would likely entail more losing.

With Stanton due to make a total of $295 million over the next 10 seasons, including $25 million in 2018, he became the top target in new ownership’s drive to reduce payroll. But his no-trade contractual rights gave him final say, allowing him to accept or veto any trade. Stanton and his agent met in Los Angeles last week with representatives for the Giants and Cardinals.

But using his no-trade clause, Stanton vetoed trades to both teams on Friday. That’s when the Marlins began serious discussions with the Yankees, Jeter’s former team.

A Yankees lineup containing both Stanton and Judge would be daunting. The only teammates in Major League history to hit at least 50 home runs in the same season were the Yankees’ Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Report: Marlins have deal in place to trade Giancarlo Stanton to New York Yankees."