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Just to clarify - I don't think Stanton is ours - but I do think Miami will trade him. Here's why.
Men who own and run MLB teams have been successful in life - but in many ways.
Someone who runs a shipyard and is successful understands the need for constantly spending/investing to have the best capability. No one will bring a ship in for repair if the dry dock is too small or the machine shop is not up-to-date with the latest equipment that does the job most efficiently and accurately. Steinbrenner ran the Yankees in exactly that fashion.
Someone who is a trustee lawyer who doesn't really own the businesses he runs will be cautious with investments and growth (fiduciary responsibility requires it) and try to do the best without taking risk, thus conserving the assets entrusted. Most of us realize that the Mariners under Ellis and Lincoln and Armstrong have been run in that way.
Someone who has built a major business from nothing understands the need to constantly innovate, invest, and adapt. Illitch runs the Tigers in exactly this way.
Jeffrey Loria has gotten where he is in life by dealing. His whole life has been constantly trying to get the better of others by being smarter and more knowledgeable. Some may question his ethics, but as far as is known, he has made his money by understanding other's tastes and exploiting their weaknesses in dealing in the ultimate subjective product - art. All the things he has done since becoming an MLB owner are consistent with this - he gets his jollies/personal affirmation by making deals which he is able to manipulate to his favor. The guy is extremely smart and is not afraid of risk, or of unpopularity. If he thinks he can win a deal and cock a snoot at his adversaries (meaning Bud Selig and Miami politicians) he will do it. If the Mariners, or Texas, or St. Louis, or any other team will give him more for Stanton than Stanton is worth to HIM, he will do it. If in doing so, he has a more successful team in 2014-15 as a result, he will crow from the rooftops of Miami - SEE, MY WAY WORKS! (subtext: I am so much smarter than all the rest of you!).
Because of this, where the Mariners conserved their asset (Felix), Loria, IF he can get a record-breaking deal (i.e., more than 3 top prospects or pre-arb potential all-stars) compared to previous similar deals, will trade Stanton. Whoever gets Stanton will, by almost every measure, overpay to get him, but if he completes a team that has everything but a top-flight RF and middle-of-the-order bat, he could be worth it. I happen to believe that the Mariners are near that point, and could afford to overpay.
One final note. In looking at baseball history, the owner who most closely resembles Loria is Harry Frazee, a theatrical producer (i.e., art dealer) who lived off of deals. He's the guy that sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

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