I imagine that conversation went something like this:
MARLINS: Felix Hern....
MARINERS: Dial tone.
If it didn't end there, it probably continued along the lines of Kyle Seager, Dustin Ackley, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and the Mariner Moose.
If you don't remember, the Marlins off loaded practically their whole entire team to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for some prospects. Later that day, we were privileged to read Stanton's thoughts on the matter.
Now, in the case of Felix Hernandez, the Mariners are not willing to trade him. That doesn't mean that Jack Zduriencik doesn't listen and it doesn't mean that he has a separate phone for Felix calls that he simply doesn't answer. So for the Marlins stating that they were willing to listen to offers, they were telling everyone that they were willing to part ways with the slugger but they weren't going to just give him away.
It was rumored by Jon Morosi that his "source" didn't believe a trade would get done between the Mariners and the Marlins, however, what are sources when it comes to the M's? You and I both know that the Mariners are pretty tight lipped when it comes to deals.
Do I think that the Mariners would be able to land Stanton? Avoiding the question, I think that Jack Z is creative and if he wanted Stanton that he would get it done. The Mariners have the means to get a deal done but I doubt that Jack would give up too many prospects in the search for any one player.
The argument is great though. Stanton is one guy that could have a serious impact on our team and is also still very young at 23 years of age. He is not a free agent until 2017. With an average of 40 homers per 162 games, he has the offensive means to be a serious influence on the Mariners right away. If the Mariners have to give up what could be 80 homers per 162 games in guys like Mike Zunino, Kyle Seager and Michael Saunders then it doesn't make sense for them.
The hardest part about all of this is, the Mariners have been banking on prospects for 4 years now and none of them have worked out like planned. All of them have under produced and it's hard to pass up genuine proven talent for what could be or may be. Then again, coming to Seattle has ended some careers of really promising players. A la Richie Sexson.
It's a lot to ask, but would you be willing to give up three prospects and one of our top outfielders for Giancarlo Stanton? The floor is yours, comment below!
SodoJoe
