The thought of Giancarlo Stanton on the Boston Red Sox scares just about every team in the American League. Well, according to rumors, such a trade was close to happening a couple of years ago, but the Miami Marlins wanted Boston's top prospect - and one of the best in the MLB - at the time.
Here's the latest from Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com:
"There was a time, a couple of years ago, when the Miami Marlins would have seriously considered trading Giancarlo Stanton to the Boston Red Sox, according to a source with direct knowledge of talks between the teams.
"This was before Stanton signed his massive contract extension with the club, and there was still an assumption around baseball that as with so many of their other stars, the Marlins eventually would not be able to afford the slugging outfielder.
"But the talks never gained traction, the source said, because the Marlins insisted that shortstop Xander Bogaerts be part of the return. There was no point in talking further, the Marlins said, unless the Sox included Bogaerts. They had similar conversations with the Baltimore Orioles. You want Stanton, you need to give us Manny Machado."
The rumors surrounding the Red Sox and Stanton were last alive in March of 2014 when Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported on the matter.
"Numerous teams would be in the hunt for Stanton, including the Cubs, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Giants, Twins, and Mariners. You'd have to give up top young players, and then sign Stanton to a huge long-term deal.
"But in reality, the team that matches up best with Miami is Boston. The Red Sox have the young players Miami wants and they have the financial resources to sign him.
"Stanton at Fenway Park? Imagine. He'd also be in a lineup where he'd have protection and he wouldn't get pitched around as often as he has in the Marlins' lineup."
The Red Sox called up Bogaerts in August of 2013 and at the time he was the No. 4 overall prospect in the MLB. He had a solid audition during his short stint as the team made a World Series run and he was then expected to be the team's starting shortstop in 2014. He was, but ended up enduring a sophomore slump.
However, his 2015 campaign is perhaps the best in the MLB among shortstops. He's batting .322/.356/.423 with 82 runs scored, 7 home runs and 81 RBIs in 153 games.
The Red Sox already have a full, talented outfield with Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rusney Castillo. It would have been a huge addition to acquire Stanton, who already has 181 career home runs in six MLB seasons, but it's much more difficult to find a capable - let alone game-changing - shortstop as opposed to an outfielder of the same caliber.
So, all in all, the trade that never was will leave us thinking what might have been. We can only imagine how many homers Stanton may have crushed over the Green Monster as well as how Bogaerts' development would have went with the Marlins.
