Giancarlo Stanton Sets Miami Marlins Record for Single-Season July Home Runs

Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton crushed a pitch from Philadelphia Phillies starter Nick Pivetta over the center field wall in the first inning of Wednesday's 10-3 loss.

Not only did it give Stanton 30 homers for the season, the shot also set a franchise record of nine home runs for the month of July, per ESPN Stats & Info. The record was previously eight, held by Stanton, Dan Uggla and Miguel Cabrera.

After a couple of injury-shortened campaigns in 2015 and 2016, Stanton has returned to the form in 2017 that earned him a 13-year, $325 million contract extension with the Marlins back in 2015. Just over two years into the contract, team owner Jeffrey Loria is attempting to sell the club and would like to dump some salary for the new owner or owners.

Stanton would certainly fit the mold of players who would shed salary from the franchise ledger, but his massive contract would likely also make him more difficult to move.

If the Marlins were in contention this season, trading players of Stanton's caliber likely wouldn't enter the equation. Unfortunately, the club owns just a 42-51 record following Wednesday's loss and sits well out of striking distance as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

While Stanton—if shipped—would likely leave Miami as one of the more decorated players since the franchise's inception in 1990, he's still just 27 years old and should have plenty of good baseball ahead of him. For the time being, he will focus on adding to his 30 long bombs and nine July homers when the Marlins open a three-game set in Cincinnati—a hitter-friendly ballpark—on Friday.