Cubs Reportedly Inquire About Giancarlo Stanton

I'm kind of leery about making this post, for two reasons:

1. I don't really like linking to stuff on Sulia, and
2. It was written by Phil Rogers.

That out of the way, here's what Phil wrote there Sunday morning:

The Cubs are talking to the Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton. It makes sense that they would look into it, given Miami's move to streamline the payroll and Stanton's unhappiness about the direction of the club. The Cubs have plenty of future payroll flexibility, and Stanton would give them a No. 3 hitter to build around. They would almost certainly have to give up Starlin Castro in a Stanton trade. His club-friendly contract (seven years, $6O-million, plus an option for 2O2O) would appeal to the Marlins. The Cubs could justify dealing Castro because of the shortstops they have in their system. They probably will only have to wait two years for Javier Baez and could give Junior Lake a look in the interim. They could also acquire Yunel Escobar in the deal as a placeholder or move Gold Glove winner Darwin Barney to shortstop, with Logan Watkins in the group to replace Barney.

Well. Stanton, who is four months older than Castro, is a monster hitter. He'd probably be an even better hitter at Wrigley Field than he is at Marlins Park; Wrigley was a better hitters' park in 2012 than the new stadium in Miami (caveat: generally you'd like three years' worth of numbers from a ballpark, but we only have one from Marlins Park). And Stanton hit 37 home runs and led the National League in slugging percentage (.601) in 2012 even though he missed 37 games.

What Rogers writes actually makes some logical sense, given what the Cubs are trying to do. Acquiring Stanton wouldn't hurt the rebuild, because at 23 Stanton is just the sort of player you'd love to build around. The players mentioned in Rogers' post could indeed fill in until the system produces players to man those positions.

Like the long-term deal Castro signed last August, you'd want to sign Stanton to a similar deal (obviously, it would cost somewhat more, but worth it, in my view).

Stanton plays right field; David DeJesus could slide over to center for a year, and then the Cubs could find a replacement. Stanton would give the Cubs' offense an immediate boost, and again, he is only 23 -- he might get better. Rogers' post indicates several other teams are interested, but the Cubs have a shot, given Castro as an attractive trade piece. As we saw from the recent Marlins/Blue Jays trade, Miami seems ready to make blockbuster deals. Would you do this? I think I would. Leave your comments, and vote in the poll.