Miami Marlins GM simulation: Giancarlo Stanton interest, a primer

Guidelines for trading Giancarlo Stanton set by Miami Marlins GM Michael Napoles. I wrote the header this way because I wanted to see “GM” next to my name.

There were a few things that I was going to require of other teams. Some of them were fairly obvious, but others were hotly contested throughout negotiations.

Contract: This was a big one, obviously. The Miami Marlins owe Giancarlo Stanton $295 million, and he’ll earn $25 million in 2018 alone. I wanted whatever team that was trying to acquire Stanton to take at least 90 percent of his contract.

I fully intended to push for all of it, even at the cost of a prospect if I had to. But 90 percent would mean the Marlins would only pay out $2.95 million each season for the life of his contract. That’s a lot, but it’s not so much that I’d turn down a great deal because of it.

Tax compensation: I didn’t want any part of this. Wherever Stanton goes, he’ll effectively take a pay cut because of income tax. Florida doesn’t have any income tax, and so his agent will seek a bonus to compensate for the wages he’ll lose. I wanted whatever team acquired Stanton to handle that entirely. It was an “out of state, out of mind” mentality as far as I was concerned.

Prospects: I was looking for pitching above all else. I wanted the top pitching prospect from whatever organization was trying to acquire him. I also wanted their most promising, MLB ready starting pitching prospect. There also needed to be a direct replacement for Stanton in the deal; someone team controllable and young.

I would push for as many prospects as possible, but due to his contract, it likely meant a lesser haul.