Beinfest: Marlins aren't shopping Stanton
In November, the Miami Marlins might've looked like a team ready to trade just about any of their players. However, don't expect them to shop slugger Giancarlo Stanton at baseball's annual winter meetings, which begin Dec. 3 in Nashville.
"Our plans for him in '13 are to be our right fielder hitting in the middle of our lineup," baseball operations president Larry Beinfest said.
Several teams have strong interest in Stanton, but the Marlins intend to build their future around him.
Stanton publicly voiced his criticism over the front office's decision to trade Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and three other veteran players to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Beinfest said he still had not spoken to Stanton about the trade yet. He also said he is not worried that Stanton could be angry enough that he would not consider any long-term offer the Marlins might extend to him.
"This was a big deal. It was an emotional time, so (I'm) kind of taking everything with a grain of salt a little bit," Beinfest said. "I can't speak for Giancarlo's feelings because those are his feelings. But these things, sometimes it takes a little time for things to settle down and see clear. That's kind of what we are going through right now."
Stanton becomes a free agent in 2017.
For now, Miami's immediate need is to add power to the lineup -- and protection for Stanton. That could be a challenge, given the team's new payroll constraints.
"We have some inventory if we decide to move it at the minor league level," Beinfest said. "There may be some free agents that haven't been on our radar that maybe we need to look at. And maybe there will be some non-tenders in the next day or two. We just need to be open to everything and be creative."
