Pros and Cons: Trading for Stanton

As soon as Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton said on Twitter that he was mad and wanted to be traded after the Marlins had a complete firesale last month, Marlins management probably couldn't keep up with all the phone calls they got from other clubs.

And it's with good reason.

As a 22-year-old last season, Stanton led the NL in slugging percentage (.608), with a .290 batting average, a .361 on-base and 37 home runs. Again, he was 22. He's 6-5, 250 pounds and he can hit the baseball really, really far. All of those numbers were in just 123 games, as well.

Marlins management have said it until they're blue in the face: They're not shopping Stanton, who is under contract until the end of the 2017 season. He's very cheap right now (less than half a million dollars per year) and will be eligible for arbitration in 2014. But the Marlins would have a ton of leverage if they decided to deal him, and while they're not shopping him they also said they would be willing to listen to offers.

So should the Texas Rangers try to make a run at the slugger?

Pros: Well, this is obvious. He would immediately go right into the heart of the Rangers' lineup, either at No. 4 or most likely replacing Josh Hamilton as the team's No. 3 hitter to take some pressure off Adrian Beltre. He would be cheap, and controllable for a long time. His power would play nicely in the home run crazy Rangers Ballpark.

Cons: In order to get the Marlins to start talking about dealing Stanton, it's going to take a huge package of prospects. The Marlins are clearly in rebuilding mode so they won't have any interest in guys like Nelson Cruz. They'll want prospects — good ones, and lots of them. The conversation would start with Jurickson Profar, who the Rangers have repeatedly deemed untouchable. Then it would include Mike Olt and Martin Perez, who are the Rangers' top three prospects in what is probably the best farm system in baseball. The Marlins would probably want another couple of prospects as well, if not young big leaguers like Derek Holland or Elvis Andrus. So, in order to get Stanton, you'd basically have to gut your farm. That's a risk some teams — probably not the Rangers — are willing to take.

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