Apr 13, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) sits in the dugout during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It has been obvious since the November fire sale trade that Giancarlo Stanton is not happy with the direction that the Miami Marlins are headed in. He voiced his displeasure in a tweet soon after the deal was consummated:

Alright, I’m pissed off!!! Plain & Simple

— Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo818) November 13, 2012

Soon after the trade, rumors ran rampant that the Marlins would listen to offers on the slugging superstar. Not much traction came of those talks, as the Marlins have no incentive to trade Stanton right now, as he is still making just the league minimum. Talks could heat up this offseason, as Stanton becomes arbitration eligible for the first time. Placido made a great point earlier this week when he addressed the Stanton to New York Mets rumor:

The rumors will persist all season long and will likely pop up on a monthly basis early in the season, but will become more frequent as the trade deadline approaches. Every team’s top prospects will be heading to Miami in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Some will be utterly ridiculous and others will be interesting enough to contemplate

The Texas Rangers lost outfielder Josh Hamilton to their division rivals this offseason and have been since searching for a replacement to take his place. The team showed strong interest in acquiring Justin Upton from the Arizona Diamondbacks before he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. They decided the price for Upton was too high and rather held onto their top prospects in the hope of landing either David Price or Giancarlo Stanton. This morning, in his insider post on ESPN, Buster Olney dropped this tidbit of news:

• The Rangers are poking around and doing some early reconnaissance on how they could put together some kind of a deal for Giancarlo Stanton.

The Rangers have one of the better farm systems in baseball and possess the best prospect in all of baseball in short stop Jurickson Profar. In all likelihood, he would be the centerpiece of any trade for Stanton in order to get the Marlins to the negotiating table. Profar’s future with the Rangers now has some uncertainty surrounding it, as the team recently signed incumbent short stop Elvis Andrus to a contract extension. The Rangers also have Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus signed longterm, leaving no spot in the infield for Profar unless another move is made. For Miami fans, the next best thing to Stanton would be Profar. Zips Projections have him projected to be a 3 win player at the ripe age of 19. He has a bright future and that very well could be in Miami.

Evan Grant of the Dallas News is also in the belief that Profar’s future won’t be in Texas, but likely in Miami:

Evan – now that the Rangers have Elvis and Kinsler locked up for quite a stretch, what do you think will happen with Profar? Do you believe the Rangers will trade him (potentially other assets) to get Stanton or Price? Or do you think they will reconfigure the infield to get him in games? Evan Grant: I think Profar will likely end up traded. If I was the Rangers I’d say to the Marlins right now: Pick four guys from the system, two position players (not named Alfaro) and two pitchers (not named Perez) and try to make a deal for Stanton.

This news will be something to keep an eye on going forward. If and when Stanton is dealt, expect the Rangers to be major players in the sweepstakes. But they won’t be alone in the pursuit of Stanton, as Peter Gammons points out on Twitter:

Team after team–from Boston to Mets to Rangers and on and on–have checked in with Miami on Stanton, with “not interested” response from Ms

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) April 14, 2013

The Mariners not being interested is a bit disappointing, as they also have one of the better farm systems in baseball.

For more updates on Stanton, please stay tuned to Marlin Maniac.

Soon after, the inevitable question came up, “is Stanton next,” or “how much time does Stanton left as a Marlin?”

Even though he has been away from the Marlins since Saturday, Giancarlo Stanton has remained in the headlines . Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The only time I even to bother to listen to or read any Stanton rumors these days are when they come from a reputable source. Those sources for me include Ken Rosenthal, Buster Olney, Jayson Stark, and a few others.

One of those other sources that I would trust would trust would be Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. This is what Cafardo had to say in his column on Sunday about Stanton:

Giancarlo Stanton, RF, Marlins — One AL executive makes a good point: never rule out the Tigers as a major player for Stanton when the time comes. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has strong ties to the Marlins from his time with them. He also appears to have the chips in third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos, outfielder Avisail Garcia, righty Rick Porcello, and others.

Such a trade makes no sense to me at all. For one, Rick Porcello is already making $5 million this upcoming season and has two years left of arbitration left after this season. He would already be priced out of the Marlins range. That would make him an unlikely part of the package the Tigers could offer the Marlins.

Secondly, while Nick Castellanos is an intriguing prospect, coming in as the 21st best prospect according to Baseball America, he should not be the type of player the Marlins should target to headline a package for someone of Stanton’s caliber. The Marlins should be demanding a top 10 overall prospect to be the headliner in such a package.

Finally, while Baseball America rates Avisal Garcia as the 74th best prospect in baseball, there is a lot about him that concerns me about his future. For one, Garcia is too aggressive for his own good, which leads to a horrible walk rate, which is worse because he has a high strikeout rate. Also, Garcia is going to be a player that is largely dependent on his BABIP in order to be successful in the pros. The Marlins have a minimum of two prospects in the minors that are better than him, maybe even a third.

Unless the “others” that Cafardo’s American League scout mentions are Justin Verlander or Miguel Cabrera, it would be hard to imagine the Tigers making an enticing enough offer for Stanton’s services.

For those fans pointing out that the Marlins got nothing big in return for Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis, in hind-sight, that maybe true, but at the time of the trade, the Marlins received two of the best prospects in all of baseball. It just so happened those prospects never panned out.

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

Stanton Makes T.V. Appearance

Stanton made an appearance on the E! series After Lately, a spin-off of Chelsea Lately on Monday night. Stanton was apart of the storyline with cast member Sarah Colonna.

If you missed it, the episode will air again later today at 8:30 PM EST on E!. This will be the first opportunity for Marlins fans to see Stanton doing something other than playing baseball.

Stanton Awes Teammate Mark Texiera

In baseball related Stanton news, apparently, Stanton stole the show during the first team USA workout. According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports all the other players on the USA roster had their eyes glued to Stanton’s batting practice.

One of his teammates, Mark Texiera, gave Stanton’s BP a rave review:

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said. “I’ve played with a lot of guys headed for the Hall of Fame, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Tex especially cautioned that his car maybe in danger if Stanton continues to swing like he does:

“I think I was OK because my car is in Tampa,” Teixeira said. “Although, with the right wind, he still might be able to hit it.”

Some high praise from one of the better hitters in baseball. Stanton’s name will only continue to grow as more of the public will get to see him play in the World Baseball Classic.

Marlins fans, enjoy him as much as you can, before he is inevitably traded off like every other great Marlin.

Loria continues to claim losing money on the Marlins, but refuses to sell the team. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

This is from Barry Jackson, of the Miami Herald:

According to a source, Bush made a “large offer” to buy the team this offseason, but Loria told him he’s not selling. A second source said Bush had put together a group of wealthy investors, with Venezuelan media mogul Gustavo Cisneros among possibilities mentioned. Cisneros declined to discuss the Marlins in an e-mail.

When approached about the Marlins situation, Bush refused to discuss the matter or confirm whether he would have been Marlins CEO and managing partner if Loria had agreed to sell. That is the same position that his brother and former U.S. President, George W. Bush, held when he co-owned the Texas Rangers before he was elected President.

Loria, 72, theoretically would have more incentive to sell after 2014, when he no longer would need to share profits with Miami-Dade County. But a friend of Loria insists that barring a health problem or change of heart, he does not want to sell because he loves owning a team.

Jose Valverde is on the verge of signing a 1-year deal with the Miami Marlins. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Valverde posted an ERA of 3.78 and an FIP of 3.62. Valverde’s FIP was at a staggering 5.01 though. For his career, Valverde has an ERA/FIP of 3.11/3.53.

No word on what role the Marlins would bring Valverde into, but Steve Cishek is the incumbent closer, and is expected to maintain that role in 2013.

Valverde could be a interesting trade chip for the Marlins if he is able to pitch well in the first half of 2013, especially with his experience as a closer.

It should be noted that Valverde is a Scott Boras client. Boras earlier in the off season said he tells his clients to avoid signing long-term deals with the Marlins, due to their lack of credibility in holding onto to those contracts. Boras also represents free agent center fielder, Micheal Bourn, whom I suggest the Marlins should sign-and-trade.

We will have more details as they come out on the Jose Valverde signing.

11:30 PM Update: Turns out, the rumors of the Valverde signing are FALSE, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald:

Sources: reports of #marlins nearing deal with Jose Valverde are “utterly false.”

— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) February 4, 2013

 

jose valverde is talking to a few teams, including the #marlins. no deal seems imminent.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 4, 2013

Before signing Lyle Oberbay, Boston had an NL team offer toget them Chris Coghlan from Miami in 3-way. .850-.595 4-yr. OPS scary.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 1, 2013

Chris Coghlan has been nothing short of a disappointment over the course of the past few seasons, since his breakout Rookie of the Year season. In that season, Coghlan posted a .321/.390/.460 with a wOBA of .374. Coghlan posted a 2.8 WAR in that season in 565 plate appearances, but his numbers were inflated due to his obscenely high BABIP of .365.

Has Chris Coghlan’s time in Miami run its course? Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

From that point on, Coghlan never returned to the level Marlins fans wanted him to be on. Since his rookie season, Coghlan has posted a stat line of .238/.306.351 with a wOBA of .291 in over 800 plate appearances. Injuries have plagued him since that time as well.

With Coghlan being in his final per-arbitration season and likely out of minor league options, he would have to hope to latch onto the Marlins 25-man roster to start the season, or risk being traded/released by the Marlins.

Either way, after a promising start to his career with the Marlins, Chris Coghlan has come crashing down, on a rapid pace.