Miami Marlins Not Interested in Trading Giancarlo Stanton

Miami Marlins fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief today. It does not appear that the Marlins have any interest in trading superstar Giancarlo Stanton.

We heard earlier this week that the New York Mets were interested in trading for the slugging star and earlier today Buster Olney mentioned that the Texas Rangers were laying ground work and preparing to offer a trade.

Luckily for Marlins fans, Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets that the Marlins are still not interested.

Apr 1, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) doubles against the Washington Nationals during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 2 – 0. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

As has been team policy in the past, the Marlins field calls for every player. The team does their due diligence of listening to any trade offer that an opposing team may bring to them. This was true with Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez. A lot of times, reporters take this the wrong way and think the Marlins have interest in trading a player.

Both the Rangers and Mets have the top prospects that could bring the Marlins to the negotiation table. The Rangers have the top overall prospect in the majors in Jurickson Profar, but also have a top 30 prospect in third baseman Mike Olt. Third base is a position that the Marlins have a void in their organization at currently.

The Mets have two top 30 prospects themselves in Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud. Wheeler is the Mets top pitching prospect and has the potential to develop into a decent #2 starter. He would be a nice fit for the Marlins behind Jose Fernandez to give the Marlins a dangerous 1-2 punch. d’Arnaud is arguably the top catching prospect in baseball.

That is where the interest level of interest for the Marlins will start to wane. Neither team has another major impact prospect in their farm systems that could get the Marlins to agree to a deal right now. The Marlins will not likely get a better pair of center piece prospects from any other team, but it does not seem to be enough to get the Marlins to agree to a trade right now.

The Marlins have the no reason to trade Stanton right now. The team has him still making the league minimum during the 2013 season and could field similar trade offers after the season if they do decide to trade Stanton. The team has already taken a massive P.R. hit after their offseason moves, so trading Stanton in-season, combined with the teams struggles could prove to be highly toxic, even for a man as hated as Jeffery Loria.

It is a longshot that Stanton will sign an extension with the Marlins as long as Loria is the owner of the team, but it cannot be ruled out.

Mar 9, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich (76) against the Washington Nationals during a spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

There is still a minute chance that the Marlins can get Stanton to agree to resign with the team. If top prospects Jose Fernandez and Christian Yelich can deliver on their talent and a few other things bounce the Marlins way, the team could become contenders faster than most analysts expect.

In order for that to happen, Loria and company will also need to add a few pieces to make the rest of the Marlins team more competitive and then make Stanton a contract extension offer that he cannot refuse. At this point, they may have to overpay him terms of years and money a bit.

The Marlins have a huge mountain to climb in order to convince Stanton that they can be dependable in the future after stabbing him in the back with the fire sale trade made back in November. However, even with just a slim shot of getting a deal done with Stanton, it would irresponsible for the Marlins to trade him without first trying to put together a deal that could make Stanton a Marlin for life.

The Seattle Mariners have not been a good team for a while, but they were able to lock up one of the best arms in baseball in Felix Hernandez despite losing. Even though the circumstances are different between the two teams, Marlins fans should use this as hope that the team can work something out with Stanton.