MLB Roundup 11/29: Giancarlo Stanton gets an ultimatum

The Marlins are giving Giancarlo Stanton a choice

By this point, we’ve all been following the Giancarlo Stanton trade rumors for weeks now. We all just want the saga to be over, if for no other reason than the fact that it seems to be holding up the rest of the offseason. Well, the Marlins are making Stanton make a choice, and it’s not exactly a fair one or one that paints the organization in a good light. According to a report out of the Miami Herald, they have told Stanton that he either has to be more flexible about where he’s willing to play or he’s going to be the only star on a completely stripped team. Get out of here, Jeter. Stanton negotiated his no-trade clause into his contract specifically because everyone in the world knew the Marlins would be in this situation at some point in the near future. It’s entirely his right to want to dictate where he plays next and there are much better ways for the Marlins to be handling this situation. I still think the Dodgers or Giants will end up with him, but perhaps this does make it a little more likely that they’ll hold on to the star until he opts out in three years. More than anything, though, they aren’t helping their relationship with Stanton nor are they increasing their leverage in trade talks.

The Yankees still don’t have a manager

It came as a shock to most of us when New York fired Joe Girardi after leading the Yankees to a surprising run to the ALCS. It was time for a new direction, it seems, and the organization is certainly taking their time in finding out what that new direction will be. They’ve interviewed a wide variety of candidates from in-house coaches to broadcasters to players who just retired a few weeks ago. One would think it’d be tough for them to go on with their offseason without a new manager in tow, but maybe it’s not as big of a deal as we think. If they aren’t planning to be active in free agency, they don’t really need a new skipper to pitch to players. Shohei Ohtani is expected to be a target, but we have no idea how concerned he is with managers. In any event, the Yankees have no competition for any potential managers, so they can take their time even if fans would like them to just get the process moving a little bit.