St. Louis Cardinals: Giancarlo Stanton officially rejects a move to St. Louis

The Giancarlo Stanton saga is over for the St. Louis Cardinals, following a statement issued by the team this afternoon.

Well, it’s official. Giancarlo Stanton will not be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals opting to not waive his no-trade clause. Cardinals’ chairman and CEO, Bill DeWitt Jr., and John Mozeliak issued a joint statement this afternoon expressing their disappointment with Stanton’s decision.

The decision comes on the heels of Ohtani’s decision to join the Los Angeles Angels this afternoon. The decision also comes at a time where tons of pressure was mounting for the Cardinals to make a decision on whether to stay in the Stanton sweepstakes or not. Even though it is disappointing, you cannot fault Stanton for exercising his no-trade clause. If he did not want to come to St. Louis, then that is his choice.

To read the St. Louis Cardinals’ press release, see below:

According to Craig Mish yesterday, neither the Giants or Cardinals were on the list of preferred teams Stanton would agree to be traded to. Among the list were the Dodgers, Yankees, Cubs and Astros. The Dodgers have been linked with Stanton for as long as he has been available due to his home being so close to Dodger Stadium.

The Astros at one point were thought to be contenders for Stanton, but ultimately nothing happened. The Yankees and Cubs are teams that intrigue me the most. While nothing has been really said on either team, I’m just not sure how either of them could land a deal. The Yankees would have the better chance than the Cubs I would guess. I’m not expecting a move to either to happen.

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The twist to this tale now become whether he will make the move to San Francisco.

There has been no official word from the Giants yet, but I would expect something to happen this weekend in order for the Giants to plan for the winter meetings accordingly.

If he moves to the Giants, he will have a lot of explaining to do.

For now though, all of Cardinal Nation now wonders what exactly the St. Louis Cardinals are going to do. None of the team’s issues were solved, so the search for a big bat, a closer, and other help remains a priority.

There is some speculation the Cardinals could end up trading for either Christian Yelich or Marcell Ozuna of the Marlins. A move for either one before Stanton moves would be a shocking development in my eyes. However, I think the Marlins would be wise to move on someone else if they think can get the better prospect package at this time.

The Cardinals could also turn their attention to the Blue Jays and Josh Donaldson‘s direction. A move for the third baseman would surely add the big bat the Cardinals need. A move for Jose Abreu is also on the table.

One thing is clear though. The St. Louis Cardinals still have options. However, the true test will be how quickly they can get some of these deals done to make up for lost time.

Next: Longoria could be an option

A positive in this situation is the Cardinals still have their prospects to deal with this off-season. Let’s see how they handle today’s news.