Marlins' slugger Mike Stanton won't be a free agent until after the 2016 season, but that hasn't stopped the team from thinking about signing him long-term. Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post reports that clubs is having "preliminary internal talks" about a long-term deal for the 21-year-old, though they haven't come up with specifics and probably won't make an offer until next year.
Stanton leads the Marlins with 25 home runs this season, and since his debut last June, he's hit .259/.328/.518 with 47 homers. Only Jose Bautista (69), Mark Teixeira (56), Albert Pujols (53), and Curtis Granderson (49) have gone deep more times since Stanton reached the big leagues. He's hitting .259/.330/.528 this year, and UZR approves of his defense in right (+10.3 UZR).
The Marlins won't have to worry about Stanton getting expensive anytime soon; he'll earn $417K this year and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2013 season. As our Agency Database shows, Stanton is represented by the Wasserman Media Group, which has negotiated long-term deals for Chase Utley and Wandy Rodriguez in recent years.
