Giancarlo Stanton Trade Rumors: Giants Reportedly Among Preferred Destinations

The San Francisco Giants are reportedly "a very early favorite" to land Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in a potential trade this offseason.  

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported the news Thursday, noting the Giants "are viewed among the preferred destinations" for the outfielder who possesses a no-trade clause.

The interest from San Francisco's side would be nothing new considering Heyman noted it was one of the teams alongside the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies that pursued him the most during the 2017 campaign. However, Marlins ownership wasn't interested in moving him while the sale of the franchise was still hanging in the balance.

Stanton is a four-time All-Star who is coming off a career season with a .281/.376/.631 slash line, 59 home runs and 132 RBI. He is one of the faces of baseball and in the middle of his prime, meaning this possible trade figures to be one of the offseason's primary storylines.

Miami's potential interest in moving him is financial, as Heyman pointed out it is looking to cut payroll "by tens of millions" after reportedly losing $60 million or more this year.

Trading Stanton could help the Marlins bolster a pitching staff that finished a mere 26th in the league with a 4.82 ERA this season while also getting them out from under Stanton's backloaded contract. According to Spotrac, he is set to make $25 million or more in each of the next 11 seasons (with player options from 2021-27 and a club option in 2028) after earning $14.5 million this year.

From the Giants' perspective, they are coming off a disastrous 64-98 effort in which they finished last in the league with 128 home runs. They were 23 behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were 29th in baseball.

Heyman said the Giants aren't looking to rebuild as the franchise has won three of the last eight World Series. Stanton would provide an immediate power boost and be someone they can build their next contender around considering he is still only 27 years old.