Giancarlo Stanton Trade Rumors: Cardinals, Red Sox, Giants, Phillies Interested

The Miami Marlins have reportedly already engaged in "preliminary communication" with multiple teams regarding a potential Giancarlo Stanton trade.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the news Friday, noting the talks have occurred with the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. Morosi noted the conversations are "expected to intensify at" the general manager meetings in the coming week.

While Morosi also pointed to the Red Sox, he echoes a Thursday report from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

According to Heyman, St. Louis is a "prime player" for Stanton, while the Phillies and Giants are also interested. Heyman specifically pointed to the Cardinals, though, noting the Marlins would "most like" to deal with them because of pitching prospects such as Alex Reyes, Sandy Alcantara and Jack Flaherty.

While it may make little sense to trade a dynamic player like Stanton from a purely baseball perspective, Miami's new ownership is reportedly looking to significantly cut payroll.

According to Barry Jackson and Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, the new ownership—which includes New York Yankees great Derek Jeter—would like to cut payroll to $90 million. If it keeps the roster together as is, the payroll would be $140 million.

Trading Stanton would be a straightforward way to take a serious amount of cash off the books. The slugger made $14.5 million in 2017 but will collect at least $25 million in each of the next 11 seasons and has player options from 2021-27 and a club option in 2028, per Spotrac.

It will be a costly addition, but whichever team trades for Stanton will instantly bolster their lineup with a 28-year-old who slashed .281/.376/.631 with 59 home runs and 132 RBI in 2017.