Should the Marlins Listen on Giancarlo Stanton?

In November the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays completed a blockbuster trade that involved twelve players total. Most notably traded from Miami were Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson. Toronto traded a handful of prospects, with Jake Marisnick being the most notable. Read more on the analysis here.

This leads to our topic.

Ever since that trade happened, star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has not been a happy camper at all. Who can blame him? His team went out during the previous off-season and brought in three premier free agents (Heath Bell was traded to the Diamondbacks), and now after one season they trade them all away, and essentially begin the rebuilding process.

Rob Neyer, of Baseball Nation, took a look what it means to truly listen on offers for Stanton. That article can be read here.

It's not that the Marlins won't be able to afford Stanton's salaries, even as they grow ever larger. It's that he might never be a more valuable commodity than right now. And if the Marlins aren't planning to compete for postseason berths between now and (say) 2016 and don't intend to sign Stanton to a long-term contract, their best course probably is to trade him now.

After this season, Stanton is scheduled to begin arbitration, and each season he should become more and more expensive. The Marlins really don't have a good shot at contending the next two or three years, and paying Stanton so much money might be foolish.

If they do trade him they should be able to get a king's ransom in return, but on the downside their fanbase will become even more furious. If it's of good interest for the franchise though they might have to do it.

Questions for the community:

1) Do you think Miami should trade Giancarlo Stanton?

2) What could they expect in return?

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