Could Giancarlo Stanton fit in Milwaukee?

While we take another look at the world of trades, we see a very unhappy Giancarlo Stanton in Miami. When the Marlins had this giant firesale last week (which is still under review by the MLB), Stanton made it known on Twitter that he wasn’t very pleased with the trade. Now in Miami, the biggest question may be how do they keep their only superstar, or, is it even possible to retain him now? With that in mind, the Milwaukee Brewers could very well open up and be potential suitors for Stanton. I know it sounds a bit hypocritical talking about the Brewers trading for Stanton when I just shot down the Josh Hamilton idea, but this one makes sense. 

Giancarlo Stanton would add a lot of power to an ready powerful outfield. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Stanton obviously would be a huge asset to any team. At 23, he’s proved himself to be one the better, young power hitters in the game. He has a total of 93 home runs in three seasons and a career slash line of .270/.350/.553. Those are some pretty monster numbers for someone as young as Stanton.

In particularly 2012, Stanton had his best year in the majors. A .290/.361/.608 slash line with 37 home runs, 86 RBIs, 75 runs, 31 extra base hits and that’s all just in 123 games. Imagine what Stanton could do in say, oh, 30 or so more games. He has some incredible power and even broke a scoreboard earlier this season.

Defensively, a right fielder, Stanton had seven errors, but his monster of an arm makes up for it. While Stanton only had a fielding percentage of .974, the fact that he had an UZR (ultimate zone rating) of 9.3 and a DRS (defensive runs saved) of 10 in 2012 is rather impressive.

Now, here comes everyone’s favorite part (I say that with most amount of sarcasm I can), who the Brewers would have to give up for him. Obviously, the Marlins need quite a bit and getting rid of Stanton really dimishes their hopes to try and rebound within the next few years. The Marlins have some very obvious needs, particularly offense:

• Who the Brewers could send: Carlos Gomez, Hunter Morris, Logan Schafer and Scooter Gennett

If you want to factor in pitching , then you might see Wily Peralta, Mark Rogers and perhaps Jimmy Nelson thrown around as well. It’s not inconceivable to think that Miami will want some young prospects and the Brewers are smart enough to not trade the entire farm away. If the Brewers found this trade at the right price, then yes, perhaps it would be ideal, but for now, the speculation will remain.

Okay, so let’s say we trade Gomez in exchange for Stanton. Who plays center field? Based on what we saw out of Norichika Aoki this season, I believe Stanton would be the better fit. Stanton had a six-point lead on Aoki in UZR for RF so clearly there’s a division here. Center field requires a lot of arm strength, which is something Stanton has and if you keep Aoki in right, then you pretty much have an impregnable outfield when you also factor in Ryan Braun in left field. Aoki also had a DRS of 8.0 in 2012 so clearly he’s valuable over in right.

Long story short, Stanton could very well be a fit in Miller Park. He’s tremendous with the bat and defensively while he does have some blemishes, his cannon of an arm can make up for those mistakes. Monetary wise, Stanton is going to start demanding more money. He only made $480,000 in 2012 and someone with his power at his age is eventually going to demand more money, whether it be in a trade or through arbitration. Rickie Weeks‘ monster contract will end in the next three years so perhaps the Brewers could try to pencil in something for Stanton. In the end, this would be a dream for the Brewers, or any team for that matter.