Phil Rogers's post on Baseball | Latest updates on Sulia

The Cubs are talking to the Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton. It makes sense that they would look into it, given

Miami's move to streamline the payroll and Stanton's unhappiness about the direction of the club. The Cubs have plenty of future payroll flexibility, and Stanton would give them a No. 3 hitter to build around. They would almost certainly have to give up Starlin Castro in a Stanton trade. His club-friendly contract (seven years, $60-million, plus an option for 2020) would appeal to the Marlins. The Cubs could justify dealing Castro because of the shortstops they have in their system. They probably will only have to wait two years for Javier Baez and could give Junior Lake a look in the interim. They could also acquire Yunel Escobar in the deal as a placeholder or move Gold Glove winner Darwin Barney to shortstop, with Logan Watkins in the group to replace Barney. There are a lot of possibilities. The question is whether they have enough other pieces to get the Marlins' attention, as Stanton is drawing a crowd. According to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, the Phillies, Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox are also trying to see if Miami will deal Stanton. But Castro-for-Stanton is a conversation starter, for sure. There are few more attractive young stars that could be included in a deal than Stanton. The Orioles' Adam Jones is the only other comparable piece on the other teams expressing interest, and his long-term deal (6-year, $85.5 million) includes no-trade protection. Castro's deal does not. This is a very interesting situation.