Phillies Rumor: Club discussing trade for Stanton and Yelich

MIAMI, FL - MAY 06: Giancarlo Stanton
MIAMI, FL - MAY 06: Giancarlo Stanton

The latest Phillies rumor has the baseball world spinning upside down

Fox Sports insider Ken Rosenthal is reporting the latest trade Phillies trade rumor includes two division rival players coming to Philadelphia.

Though no trade is imminent, Rosenthal reports “something has got to give” regarding the Phillies and Marlins in the coming weeks. One blockbuster deal that has been kicked around is Miami star Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich going to Philadelphia for prospects.

Stanton would lift an incredible financial burden for Miami, as he’s due more than $300 million in the coming years.

Rosenthal reports that he’s heard of this conceptional trade through three separate sources, and knows the Phillies have been vocal regarding the acquisition of Yelich.

When I first heard the trade concept — heard it from three different sources — I thought, “Whoa. Interesting.”It’s…

Posted by Ken Rosenthal on Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Here are the key excerpts from Rosenthal’s report.

When I first heard the trade concept — heard it from three different sources — I thought, “Whoa. Interesting.”The concept was this: Marlins outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich to the Phillies, with the Phillies absorbing the remainder of the two contracts — Stanton’s monster deal through 2027 (he can opt out after ‘20) and Yelich’s below-market deal through 2021.The Phils kicked around the concept internally, sources said.

A deal this large would include certain prospects fans may be unwilling to move, including Dylan Cozens, Mickey Moniak, and Aaron Altherr. Rosenthal highlights the plethora of outfielders in the Phillies system in his report, which is posted on his professional Facebook page.

Stanton is one of the great home run hitters in modern baseball with 234 at the age of 27, and three top-25 MVP finalist.

His 13-year contract has an opt-out after the 2020 season, and also contains a full no-trade clause.

Rosenthal also says the club could move past the idea of acquiring Stanton and in turn take on Yelich and another large contract on the Marlins roster, such as reliever Junichi Tazawa.

Yelich is highly comparable to last year’s first overall pick Mickey Moniak, who will hit for an incredibly high average with little power.

Because the Phillies have no money on the books other than Odubel Herrera’s club-friendly contract the ability to take on another club’s financial burden is a valuable asset in the trade market. Additionally, the $2.5 billion deal between Comcast and the Phillies gives the team an unprecedented amount of money to spend in the near future.

That money would go directly towards Stanton and the contract mentioned above. With incredible power at a young age, Stanton could lead Phillies baseball in home runs inside Citizens Bank Park in the very near future.

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Owner John Middleton wants to win more than any owner in the game, and a deal such as this sounds like something he’s willing to accept should general manager Matt Klentak present it.

Next: How We'd Run the Phillies Offseason

It’s unlikely this deal comes to fruition, but where there’s smoke there’s fire.