The 2014 Major League Baseball season isn’t even a month old but that doesn’t mean numerous clubs across the 30-team league haven’t begun the process of looking for ways to upgrade their respective rosters moving forward. Franchises including the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and many others are always interested in making a splash and with races in each of the six divisions expected to be tight this year, numerous teams are already exploring the availability of various players. Due to continued struggles on the offensive side of the ball, the Boston Red Sox could be the team to make the biggest early-season splash.
Through 26 games this season, the defending World Series champions are 12-14 and 3 ½ games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East. Currently ranking 22nd in team batting average (.241), 16th in team RBI total (96) and 15tth in team hits (213 in 884 at bats) the Red Sox certainly look like a team in need of an offensive boost and according to multiple reports, Boston higher-ups could look to the Miami Marlins for help. 24-year-old outfielder Giancarlo Stanton would be a great fit on any club but due to Boston’s growing need for depth in the outfield and more consistency from top to bottom in the line-up, Stanton sits as a target due to his continued growth in Major League Baseball.
While a health issue has become something of a concern with Stanton -- since the California native only appeared in 116 games last season and 123 in 2012 -- the Marlins organization has stated in recent time that they’re not ready to part ways with a talent who holds the ability to become one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Talking about the health status of Stanton in recent time, Marlins general manager Dan Jennings said that even though his injury history may be worth watching, the club isn’t jumping through hoops to move the talented youngster.
“I think when you have a young guy missing time, you always worry,” Jennings said. “He takes great care of himself. He started to do some yoga stuff to elongate the muscles. We honestly have taken that trade talk and removed it from our thoughts. We need him to have a monster year that we expect from him. We were historically horrible last year. It was pretty bad. Now we’ve brought in some veterans who have won in other places like Salty, Garrett Jones, Furcal. They can do some damage and this will enable Giancarlo to get better pitches to hit. His agent knows we want to sign him long-term.”
Despite the words of Jennings, Boston could attempt to land Stanton in order to add more stability to a club competing with American League powers in New York, Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Through 24 games in 2014, Stanton has recorded 7 home runs and 29 RBIs in 97 at bats while batting a comfortable .278.
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