Houston Astros Report: Giancarlo Stanton is willing to accept a trade

The Houston Astros are in the midst of a off season that will involve some moves but not as busy as other teams. But a bombshell just dropped. Giancarlo Stanton has confirmed that he would waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Astros as well as three other teams.

This would be an interesting wrinkle for the Houston Astros. Bringing in Giancarlo Stanton would certainly indicate that a huge haul would have to be made in order to equate to his astronomical-sized salary.

The latest news is segmented between two reports — one from MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal as well as Craig Mish of SiriusXM Radio. Mish indicated that Stanton would give the green light to trade to either the Houston Astros or the Chicago Cubs.

In the other report by Rosenthal, he said that the Stanton is reluctant to approve of a trade to the San Francisco Giants or the St. Louis Cardinals for reasons we certainly will find out about later. It’s no secret that Stanton parting ways with Miami Marlins is mutual as he’s the ball and chain to the team’s rebuilding aspirations.

Stanton is currently on a 13-year, $325 million deal that he signed back in 2014 and remains the richest player contract in MLB history. He still has 10 years left on the deal, earning an average of $25 million through 2027.

That’s a lot of money for any team to take on but whatever team that’s going all-in on Stanton doesn’t quite care because of the intense, steady production that they’ll get out him for years to come.

Jim Crane publicly stated just two weeks ago that the Houston Astros can afford such a contract

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but did give words of caution indicating that there are risks to ascertain before taking on such long-term deal. Crane did not rule out going after him so now Stanton has turned the heat up at 501 Crawford.

Will the Astros actually have the guts to go out and make this deal? Likely not. We have a terrific team here and it’d be a shame if it were to be busted up. I’m positive that taking on a Stanton deal would go against any computer models or perceived notions about how to run their business. It’s just too risky of a venture but it’s nice to dream of the possibility.

Just imagine that last name appearing on a fresh lineup card signed by A.J. Hinch. Ahhhhhhh.

Although Stanton’s odds of longevity would be a lot greater, the franchise should’ve learned their lesson by now after agreeing to a six-year, $100 million deal for outfielder/first baseman Carlos Lee at age 31 ahead of the 2007 season. He skills declined fast over that deal and he had become so slow and inconsistent, they had no choice but to put him at first base toward the end of his career.

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But nonetheless, I’ll be watching in regard to this development because if the team pulled off the unthinkable with acquiring ace Justin Verlander, anything is possible.

We’ll have to see.

Stanton, 28, hit .281/.376/.631 with a 1.007 OPS, 132 ribbies, 168 hits and 59 home runs through 597 at-bats in 2017, mostly career highs.

Go Astros.

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