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The problem we have is that we're doubled up basically everywhere on the field. We have too many players who can fill the same roles, with a similar talent level.
Pretty Boy version--------Evil Goatee version
Nick Franklin -------------- Brad Miller
Jesus Montero ----------- Mike Zunino
Danny Hultzen ----------- Erasmo Ramirez
James Paxton ------------ Brandon Maurer
Carter Capps ------------- Stephen Pryor
I could trade ALL the guys on the left, and replace literally ALL of them with the guys on the right, and we might never know the difference on the field. Heck, we might be better with the guys on the right.
We already had to dump Mike Carp, who was the evil goatee version of Justin Smoak. We threw out Trayvon Robinson for lack of room. Stefen Romero has loads of talent and will have trouble cracking the 25-man because Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager are in his way (which means one of them could go too if Romero lights it up in the first half).
Did I mention that all of those players are likely to be crammed into AAA this year if they're not on the big-league roster? The glass ceiling has arrived, and the prospects are bumping up against it.
If we offered the guys on the left for Stanton there would be people howling that it was an overpay and that we got schooled by Miami. Can it be an overpay if you don't miss anyone who left, while fixing the ONE thing the farm does not currenly offer and that's a MOTO power hitter?
Stanton's best years are ahead of him, by a wide margin. I think he can be had for less than that left-hand column, or at least for a little less major-league-ready talent. We could save one or two of those guys for a second deal, trade away a Sanchez or someone from the lower levels of the minors instead.
But we've spent all this time stocking backups to our top-100-type prospects who are every bit as good as (if not better than) the guys they're currently understudying to based on the major lists.
Gotta pull that lever before any of the would-be-kings stall and lose value. Pick the guys you want, trade the remaining guys who have the most value, and finish the roster makeover. It likely won't happen until next offseason, but I could see a deadline deal this year if the Marlins put Stanton in play. Can't let somebody else leapfrog us, not with the arsenal that we're sitting on approaching its expiration date.
~G