Rob Foldy/Getty Images
- Talks between the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees picked up on Friday evening according to numerous reports.
- These reports came after Stanton used his no-trade clause and rejected trades to both the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.
- Talks between the Marlins and Yankees are reportedly not close, but they are said to be moving in that direction.
The Giancarlo Stanton trade sweepstakes are starting to clear up as two heavyweights have dropped out of the race and the biggest heavyweight of them all just jumped in with both feet.
On the same day that both the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants announced they were no longer in contention for Stanton, numerous reports on Friday night said the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins have entered into serious negotiations for the MVP slugger.
Ken Rosenthal of The Atlantic was the first to report that the Yankees are now "in play" for Stanton. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted that no trade is done yet, but that one source was "confident it's moving towards that."
Rosenthal also reported that a source said the deal is "not close," but said "any Stanton deal will be complex" and the "smoke is real."
According to Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, Stanton's hometown Los Angeles Dodgers also remain a potential trade destination, but that the talks with the Yankees are in a "more advanced stage."
Earlier on Friday, Stanton narrowed the list of teams he would accept trades to four teams, including the Bronx Bombers. Stanton has a full no-trade clause in his contract and rejected trades to both the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Both teams were said to have agreed to deals with the Marlins.
According to Craig Mish, Stanton would also approve trades to the Chicago Cubs or Houston Astros. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Marlins are still talking to other teams besides the Yankees, but that none of those talks are serious.
The Yankees were initially considered a long shot as they had made it clear that they wanted to keep their payroll in 2018 under the luxury-tax threshold of $197 million.
"I've said many times, for a number of reasons, it's important for us to get under the cap this year," Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters in November, via ESPN. "It's absolutely a goal of mine - to be under."
Of course, one thing that could help a potential deal is the familiarity of the Yankees by both new Marlins owner Derek Jeter and new Marlins exec Gary Denbo, who is said to know the Yankees farm system "as well as anyone on the planet."
In addition, outfield is not a position of need for the Yankees as they already have Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Hicks. But it seems clear, if the chance to acquire an MVP in his prime comes along, the Yankees are going to take a swing.