Rob Manfred makes dumb excuse for the Marlins trading Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton is the National League MVP. Giancarlo Stanton is going to be traded before 2018.

The reason the Marlins are planning to trade the reigning 2017 MVP is entirely motivated by his salary: He’s under contract for another 11 seasons at a rate the league believes he’s worth. But the Marlins leaked out almost immediately after new ownership got a hold of the team that the plan was to cut payroll in half, to $55 million, so it doesn’t matter if Stanton is worth the money or not.

Stanton’s 2018 salary is basically half of that slashing by itself. So the Marlins are all about that plan even though Stanton could easily be part of the next competitive Marlins team, is going to be just 28 years old in 2018, and is easily the most popular and talented player on the club. For good measure, here’s Scott Boras calling out the Marlins and Derek Jeter for cutting payroll that they could easily afford to pay instead.

Given the overwhelming evidence that Marlins ownership is being terrible to fans and to a star the organization could actually get to agree to give the franchise a shot, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred spoke up in its defense with some inanity. Manfred said it’s “unfair to criticize” Marlins ownership for wanting to trade Stanton and the $295 million still owed him, as it was the previous owners who negotiated the contract with the star outfielder.

For one, this is a good reminder that the MLB commissioner does not work for the players or their benefit: He’s on the same side as ownership. Second, let’s not act as if Jeter and Co. just found out about Stanton’s deal after all the paperwork had been signed and ownership of the Marlins had been transferred to them. The $295 million still owed Stanton was part of the deal, and they can trade him, sure, but defending it as not being their contract, really, is ridiculous.

By this logic, Stanton should just be able to say his contract doesn’t actually count because he negotiated it with the previous front office, run by Jeffrey Loria, and now he’s a free agent. MLB wouldn’t allow that, so why bother defending the Marlins by acting as if they’ve been saddled with some unfortunate deal they had no control over? Oh, right: because the commissioner works for ownership; we’ve been over this.

It’s the Marlins’ right to trade Stanton; this is 100 percent true. It’s 100 percent their right to gut this roster for prospects and save money in the process until they’re any good again. That doesn’t make them right or good, but in a world without a salary floor, it’s going to happen. What we don’t need is a commissioner-sponsored pity party for the people who had $1.2 billion around to buy a baseball team. It’s what we’re getting, though, and you can expect more of it as we head toward the actual moment when Stanton is dealt.