Giancarlo Stanton is a stud.
I don't need to post a slew of stats to prove that to you. I know it, you know it, Ruben Amaro Jr. knows it. Heck, everyone in baseball knows it.
That's why, if the young right-handed, power-hitting right fielder is dealt, he will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the Miami Marlins will receive an embarrassment of riches in return.
The Phillies do not have said riches to offer to the Marlins, who would ask for even more in return from a division rival. If they did, the team's outlook wouldn't be so bleak and Jimmy Rollins wouldn't be forced to walk around with his head down and the sad Charlie Brown music playing after being forced to admit the Phillies are no longer the team to beat.
So it goes.
More importantly, the Phillies need more than a right-handed bat (which might be why they've been linked to every player in baseball this offseason). Just to list a few things off the top of my head, they need starting pitchers, relief pitchers, outfielders, a catcher, utility players, and some help in the infield.
Did I miss anything?
There are benefits to acquiring Stanton. He's a piece around which the team could build a contender. Also, he's good at the baseball.
The problem is, they'd just be swapping needs if the team did acquire him. The Phillies would get a clutch outfielder but then create holes at third base by losing Cody Asche and/or left field by losing Dom Brown and likely more.
What the Phillies do need is to find a way to dump the bad contracts that got them into this mess to begin with (and hide Ryan Howard in someone's basement through 2016).
The organization may think the team is on the cusp of contending again but we all know that's contrived rhetoric meant to fill the seats at Citizens Bank Park. The truth is, the rebuilding process requires patience and time. Those two elements — as well as terrific scouting — are what the Phillies had oh so many years ago when they drafted and developed the players that helped them win the 2008 World Series and compete for many years.
Stanton could be a terrific complement to that but such an acquisition would also set the organization back at least a couple of years (if the team went the draft/develop route).
That raises another point: Ruben Amaro Jr. isn't exactly the sit-around-and-wait type. He's a proactive GM who wants and gets his name tied to as many high-profile players as possible.
Sure, sure. He is also on a short leash and it will not take long to prove that the 2014 Phillies will not be the contenders he believes the team to be.
Hmm, maybe if Stanton is a Phillie, it would further that point and expedite the departure of RAJ.
No Ruben, No Cry?
