MLB Roundup 11/28: Giancarlo Stanton prefers the Dodgers

Giancarlo Stanton wants to play for the Dodgers

Although nothing has really happened yet this offseason — seriously, can we get some action, please? — the Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors have dominated the headlines over the last couple of weeks. Obviously, the Red Sox have been connected to the big slugger, though most of that has been speculation rather than being based on fact. A big factor in these talks is the fact that Stanton has a full no-trade clause, meaning he plays a massive role in where he ends up. There have been conflicting reports on his thoughts of playing in Boston, but on Monday we learned that his top destination is the Dodgers. This isn’t a massive surprise, as we knew that Stanton preferred to play on the west coast and the Dodgers have turned into the top franchise on that coast. All of that being said, it’s not clear how interested Los Angeles is at this point, and they may be more focused on Shohei Ohtani for the time being. This whole thing will be dragged out for a while, me thinks. It does look more and more like the Red Sox are on the outskirts of these talks, though.

• On Sunday, Doug Fister signed with the Rangers, eliminating one of the possible depth starters available in free agency. The Red Sox lost another potential piece of depth on Monday when Hisashi Iwakuma agreed to return to Seattle on a minor-league deal. Iwakuma was probably always unlikely to come out to the East Coast, but as a former long-time solid righty, he was an intriguing buy-low option for the Red Sox rotation depth.