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Giancarlo Stanton deal would be huge statement by Marlins, Loria

Jeffrey Loria should be a bit more popular among fans now. (USATSI)

Through the past few seasons, I've often been called a ' Marlins hater' or some derivative thereof due to how critical I've been of Marlins owners Jeffrey Loria and his front office. It always kind of makes me chuckle for several reasons:


1. I have gushed on many occasions about several players, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez in particular.


2. I have been anti-Loria because I hate how he's screwed fans over, and Marlins fans turn around and get angry with me? I'm on your side, guys!


Still, I'm nothing if not accountable. I often bring up bad predictions I've made for the purposes of accountability and transparency. So I'm going to remain fair now and say that Loria and the Marlins front office are making a statement they needed to make with the Stanton signing, should it come to fruition (and it would be shocking if it didn't, this late in the process).


For me, the greatest and most significant part of the deal is the no-trade clause. Remember, the Marlins refused to give those for years, specifically to Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes, who said they were verbally promised they wouldn't be traded but were not given clauses because of club policy.


After the blockbuster deal that sent Buehrle, Reyes and others to Toronto, Stanton famously said he was 'pissed' on Twitter about it. What's funny about that now is that the return the Marlins got shows it was a great trade in the present. Of course, the problem is that it damaged the club from an outside perspective, because how were we supposed to trust that they'd ever hold onto someone? Remember, they've traded Miguel Cabrera, Anibal Sanchez, Hanley Ramirez and others. You can't just keep dealing great players once they get close to free agency. At some point, you have to keep a core together.


Remember, Loria bought the Marlins before the 2003 season, watched the club win the World Series with a young core and blew it up as fast as he could. They haven't sniffed the playoffs since, but Loria has made a ton of money and spent taxpayer dollars to get a new stadium built.


And ever since that Toronto deal, it has seemed unlikely the Marlins would lock up Stanton long-term, and many big-market teams have been pestering them about a potential deal for the MVP-caliber youngster.


Even if Stanton was given a deal, I would have been skeptical without the no-trade clause. 'Window dressing' would have been my immediate reaction along with a yawn. Surely the Marlins would have been signing Stanton just to show they aren't averse to that before dealing him a few years later. After all, a long-term deal would increase his trade value, because the acquiring team would know how long they'd have him along with the dollar amount.


The no-trade clause, though, has me on the opposite end. This is a great deal for the Marlins and, more importantly, their fans. Forget the money (seriously, MLB teams wipe their figurative backsides with $25 million a season -- and would you rather Stanton or Loria get that? C'mon). This is the Marlins saying for once that they are committing the franchise to a young superstar, like they didn't do with Cabrera and others. They are telling Stanton he has no-trade protection, so he won't have to vent on Twitter about being 'pissed' again -- at least when it comes to a trade.


The next steps are to get with Fernandez, Christian Yelich and others extended. There's a great, young nucleus here playing in a new ballpark in a large market. The club has significant potential, it just needed to show the ability to put the fans before the bottom line. With the Stanton deal, they've taken the first step toward earning the trust that they'll do so moving forward.


So I'll say it very clearly: Good job, Mr. Loria.


Now keep it coming.


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