MLB Trade Rumors: Documents show that Astros tried to trade for Giancarlo Stanton

Deadspin.com today leaked a massive amount of Houston Astros internal front office communication. The data was posted on Anonbin and it contains “Documents purportedly taken from Ground Control and showing 10 months’ worth of the Astros’ internal trade chatter.

This concerns us Marlins fans is because during last winter Marlins GM Dan Jennings was open to trading the man he claimed would be a Marlin for the foreseeable future and that slugger was not available. Jennings said last November, Mr. Stanton is not available, “he is going to be in right field at Marlins Park, and [we’re] looking forward to having a big year with him. We’re excited. We think it’s going to be a lot of fun building around him, and what he can mean to this ballclub and that city.”

Contradicting all of this talk about Giancarlo Stanton being the center of the franchise, the man the Marlins would build their future around was Jennings and the Marlins front office’s actions.

On November 15 of last year the Astros GM Jeff Luhnow spoke to Jennings and broached the subject of acquiring Giancarlo. Jennings told Luhnow “he doesn’t think he’ll trade Stanton and the only deal he could think of from us that would work would be Springer and Correa. JL said that would not work. JL posited a deal around Cosart and Deshields.”

First of all as Marlins fans we’re used to being lied to by ownership and the front office. That is not news to anyone. We have become inured to the steady stream of lies, mismanagement and misdirection.

What is more significant is a two part question to Dan Jennings. What made you think you could trade Stanton for the best prospect in baseball and one of the best power hitting prospects around?

Second, why would the Marlins need more young players? Unless the plan was to trade one our young outfielders or Adeiny Hechavarria (yay!!!)?

Unless we somehow become privy to the Marlins and Jennings internal thinking we will never know what the plan was. If we planned to trade our outfield depth for other positions of need or if we planned to hoard as much talent as possible for no clear reason. Either way trading prospects for more prospects is not how baseball generally become successful.

The on the field implications are also hard to explain. How Jennings thought that the Astros would trade Correa a player with a career .308/.389/.465 slash line in 1000 minor league at bats.  Correa is one of the most highly touted prospects out there and the Astros would be loath to part with him,

Springer would otherwise be a nice pickup, but another unrealistic acquisition. Springer so far this season has shown he has Stanton-level, 80 grade power. Again it was unlikely and remains so that the Astros would be willing to trade one of the keys to their future away.

It is hard to believe that Jennings thought that it would be possible to acquire two potential superstars for the price of one. What is even more ridiculous is that Marlins management still hasn’t learned the lesson of the Miguel Cabrera trade. No matter how much of a sure thing prospects might look like there is no telling if you are throwing away the future of your franchise on nothing but hope and potential.