As expected, the Marlins are planning to open extension talks with star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton after the season, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. That seems the logical course after Miami reportedly declined to field trade offers on its best player. While the club intends to make a “legitimate” run at locking up Stanton for the future, some within the front office are reportedly not optimistic about the likelihood of reaching agreement.
The powerful 24-year-old is in the midst of perhaps his finest season as a pro, bouncing back after a down year (by his lofty standards). Through 496 plate appearances in 2014, Stanton has slashed .289/.389/.546 with 27 long balls in the books. Stanton’s career line (.270/.361/.537) is a rare one in today’s game. Of course, that kind of production does not come cheap, and his $6.5MM first-year arbitration salary portends big earnings over his final two seasons of arb eligibility.
With two years of team control left after this season, it could be now or never for Miami to lock up Stanton, who would hit the open market before his age-27 season if he is not signed to a long-term pact. (If neither injury nor ineffectiveness intervene, the free agent bidding for his services would surely be a thing to behold.) Sources tell Heyman that the game’s premier slugger is more motivated to play for a winner than to maximize his earnings, but it remains to be seen whether his personal predilections make it more or less likely that he’ll commit to the Marlins.
Of course, teams will be lining up to talk with the Marlins if negotiations do not progress. With Stanton working hard to round out his game and now profiling as one of the league’s better players and biggest stars, he would have no shortage of suitors. Especially given his age, a not-insignificant portion of the value in Stanton’s rights stems from the exclusive right to negotiate a long-term deal. If Miami cannot cash in on that value, then perhaps another club can. But the Fish apparently are not (rightly, in my view) in any rush to make a move.
If Ellsbury and Choo easily got over 100 mill… I can only imagine what Stanton will demand. Maybe 140/6?
I doubt he takes a short term contract as if he takes that 6 year deal he will be a free agent again at 33 and the likelihood that he will be worth another huge contract would be rather small. I think something around 10 years and 250+ MM is something that he will be more inclined to look for.
I guess a 140/6 deal makes sense if it has an opt out clause after a couple of years so he can hit the FA market at 29/30 and will be in line to receive another huge contract.
Stanton is 24 now. Turns 25 in November I think. That means he would be 31 after a 6 year deal expires. Same age as Cano was when he signed his 10 year deal.
Oh your right. I forgot that the deal would just cover his arb years. Brain fart right there…
Cano deal was signed with 2 less years of service time, and only bought out 2 fa years. I would think it would take way more to lock Stanton up, since he already is making decent enough money that he doesn’t borrow from the future, and he is so close.
More. He will pass $200MM on the open market as long as he stays healthy.
With the Marlins history I would not sign any extension with them. Part of signing such a extension is because you want to be with that team in addition to the money. Considering they usually trade players a year or two into their extensions you have no idea where you will end up. The Marlins don’t deserve loyalty from their players since they have never shown any to them. Play out the string and go the free agent route.
Considering they’ve traded Carlos Delgado, Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and Heath Bell over the years. I’m wondering what gives you that impression?
The Marlins better throw in a No-Trade Clause.
If Stanton doesn’t sign–to the Rangers for Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus.
Oh yea because that’s just what we need, a mediocre player and a gold glove calibur Shortstop that we already have….
I would give Profar, Gallo, and Perez.
That’s legit…..if you have a high upside talent in rookie ball to add to it.
Only a Madman from Texas would propose that.
I suppose I am mad but here is my reasoning.
1) Odor has played well at second and is getting better every game. Profar is the same type of player and not a HUGE upgrade.
2) Gallo is going to be really good. No doubt but you must give to get.
3) Perez is a good MLB pitcher. Like I said, you must give to get.
No that’s quite reasonable through my eyes. I thought it might take a 17 year old Dominican with upside (project) as well but you are on the right wave length. I’m a Boston fan and know it would take Bogerts, Owens, Swihart, Webster. It Was the Moreland and Andrus trade proposal that had me responding to the self proclaimed “MadmanTX.” Your proposal is in the ball park. I see the big problem with a trade to Texas being the huge commitments owed to Fielder and Choo. Those are hard contracts to get rid of. Since you have Gallo, you might be better off rolling with him, Profar and Perez. I expect him to go to free agency unless he “just loves” Miami and is willing to take a home town discount.
I feel bad for him. He could hit 500-600 HR if he didn’t play in that grave yard.
I’m conflicted, I’d love to see a player of Stanton’s quality/age hit FA, but at the same time, think the team will have over paid for him. He’s gotta be a due pretty close to a 200 million deal with his power/age, or heck easily even more in 2 years.
I’d much rather see the Marlins sign him long term than have him hit free agency just to see him eventually go to either the Yankees, Red Sox, or Dodgers. Baseball is much SO better with the best players spread around the league rather than concentrated in just a few places like in the NBA.
That ship sailed when the Marlins started treating their players, city and fans like they do. Stanton has made it abundantly clear that he has no interest in playing for that team and wants out of there yesterday. The team can talk all they want, but he’s not going to be signing anything because that will only keep him there longer. He can get paid by any number of teams, so it’s not like he’s at their mercy or anything. It might be better for baseball to have him stay there, but Loria has never been concerned with what’s best for baseball. This is one case where I would totally support a player leaving and wish him nothing but the best on his way out.
Stanton had actually stated recently that he likes what the Marlins have accomplished.
Fool me once… He might or might not be smart enough to read the tea leaves, but his agent will be. The Fish HAVE been doing some good things, but that doesn’t change a thing about HOW they do things, which was the reason he was so frustrated in the first place.
I think Stanton is smart and knows what he wants.
I think you are right and its big, big dollars. The Fish wont pay him. I dont think they can pay him regardless of the PR move they are making now. There is no way a team with the fewest fans in the NL and the lowest revenue in the majors can afford a guy that will be one of the highest paid. So he is gone. The only question is when.
Do you just copy and paste you have said the same thing over and over in every one of your posts.
As much as I disliked the way they handled everything during all 3 of their fire sales, it’s hard to argue with their results. It always seems that a couple of years after tearing the house down, they have new, better house built.
Just to be clear, they’ve had the 2005 firesale, the Miguel Cabrera firesale of 2007 and the 2012 firesale.
They’ve made the playoffs how many times since 2003?
The Miguel Cabrera trade wasn’t a fire sale, it was a trade of two players. Just because you make a trade of two guys for prospects doesn’t make it a fire sale. Plus, Miguel Cabrera wasn’t a Triple Crown winner at the time, he was a guy that a lot of people thought would drink himself out of the league.
The 3 I was referring to were the original 1998 post-World Series fire sale, the 2005 Beckett/Penny/Lowell FS, and the 2012 FS. The 1998 sale helped build the 2003 WS Champs, the 2005 FS won Joe Girardi the Yankees job because of his upstart team, and the 2012 looks like it is paying dividends for the future.
BTW, How many times has Toronto made the playoffs in that same timeframe?
I agree, and no offense to any fans, but I really dislike the Marlins org and as a fan of baseball, how they do things, so I kinda like to wish bad things happen to the Marlins. And it wouldn’t get much worse than losing a player like Stanton. Loria needs to get out of MLB.
I can’t see him wanting to sign long-term with the Marlins given their history. Even if he gets a full NTC that won’t stop them from moving everyone else and going into another rebuild in 2017.
We all know that the Marlins cant sign Stanton to a long term extension. They have one of the lowest revenues in the game and Stanton is going to be asking for an extension about the same as Trout. Can you see the Marlins paying Stanton $30 million per year with a $40 million payroll like they have now or a $60, $70 or even $80 million payroll? This is a PR stunt to get people to renew Marlins season tickets in October. Then they can say we tried, but since we couldnt get him to sign we traded him. Stanton will be a Dodger, Yankee, Tiger, Red Sox, Angel or other big money team player by opening day. Can you imagine him in the same outfield as Trout? Or Puig?
Yankees, Tigers and Angels do not have the prospects to get Stanton and so far the Red Sox prospects have been less than stellar on the major league level.
Angels, Tigers and Yankees don’t have enough to get him in trade and the Dodgers might not either, but certainly do not need another OF. That said, his time in Miami is coming to an end soon, but I don’t think anyone outside of the Marlins FO knows exactly when that will be.
As for selling the trade to the fans, they’ve been burned so many times before. They’ve seen this played out before and already know it’s coming. They LOVE Stanton down there, but won’t hold it against him for leaving either. No PR stunt is needed because the FO already has so many black eyes that people stopped counting them.
You are absolutely right that he will not be in Miami long. Playing devils advocate here. Tigers got Price without giving up a top prospect, so it can happen. Might be hard to pull it off or involve a 3rd team, but its possible. Dodgers may/probably move both Kemp and Ethier which would make room. Those two would bring back some top prospects to refill the farm if the Dodgers pay a chunk of their salaries. Puig is going to play and Crawford is not tradable right now. Van Slyke is playing well as a 4th OF. I would think that Pederson, Seager & Lee would get that trade done. As far as what the Marlins FO is saying, its definitely a PR move. The Marlins FO knows they cant sign him. They just want to be able to say they gave it a go, he wouldnt sign, so they had to trade him for the good of the franchise or some such. If they don’t at least put up a front that they are trying to sign him, then season tickets are going to lag behind this seasons NL worst.
Baseball is making money hand over fist. I think ownership is not really reporting the true numbers and Loria is just pocketing most of the luxury tax and other money that baseball is giving them.
Personally I feel if the teams don’t use this money in addition to what the team normally brings in to put a better product on the field they shouldn’t get the extra money.
Every team could easily afford a Stanton and then some.
The problem is Loria. Why they keep someone like Cuban from owning a team but allow him to destroy one franchise, and work on destroying another is beyond me.
It is also difficult to maintain a fanbase when the fans know that a very high majority of players aren’t going to be around for more then four years. But hey at least they get to watch Greg Dobbs for far longer then any other team would have him.
I feel your pain. Baseball is making more money than in the past, but the Marlins are still making the least revenue of any team. They also have the lowest attendance of any NL team. With revenue of about $150 million including National TV, Local including TV and tickets, and revenue sharing, I dont think they can afford to spend $75 million on payroll for a full season and still make Loria a profit. MLB cant force him to take a loss. Stanton is going to make $12-15 million if he goes to arbitration for next season and more than $20 million if he goes again in 2016. If the Marlins sign him long term, they will have to fork over $20-35 million per season from 2016 and beyond. Right now they have a $40 million payroll and next season it will top out around $50-52 million with arbitration raises not including Stanton. There is just no way they can afford to pay Stanton what he is going to make. Its not even possible. You have to pay other players, too.
Maybe the Cubs can get Stanton on waiver claim !…..LOL
Not funny
Its funny. Not going to happen, but really funny.
Trout will make $34 million in 2018……..so expect Stanton to be somewhere in that range or even more…….ten year, $400 million could be the asking price by Stanton’s agent.
Trout>Stanton and younger too
that could be, but owners will spend $$$$ to get that certain player.
They won’t overpay that much they have to look at the market and find a good comparison the most I see Stanton getting is a Cano like contract.
Stanton > Cano
Yes but Cano was durable consistent an elite hitter at a position where offense is scarce and the Mariners were desperate. No player has earned over $300 million so if any agent asks for $400 million for 10 years, they will just lose any professional credibility.
With the Billions being paid for tv / cable rights, it could happen.
If only the billions went to team operations and payroll, but it’s laughable the amount that actually goes to the players.
More than 50% of MLB revenue to the players. I’m sure you could look it up in the collective Bargaining Agreement. Its why payrolls are shooting up so fast. Stanton is only 24 and he already has 144 home runs. He could sign a 6 year deal like Trout did and be a free agent again at the age Cano was when he signed his 10 year deal or he could sign a long deal and be the 1st $300 million dollar player. Either way, its not going to be with the Marlins. The question is who are they going to trade him to, not how much would they have to pay to sign him. They cant sign him. They are the lowest revenue team in baseball and dont have the money.
Stanton will get at minimum the 6 years and $140 million that Trout got. Trout signed an under market value deal. Stanton is the best young player not named Trout. He is going to get paid, no doubt about it. I think he is going to get paid much more than the the 31 year old Cano, but even if ALL he gets is the same 10 years and $240 million Cano gets, do you really think the team that has a $40 million payroll right now is the one that is going to sign him? Not a snow balls chance on South Beach.
Didn’t say he signs in Miami, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. The league is already upset with the low payroll miami is going with so they might force Loria to spend.
They have the lowest payroll and revenue of any team. $50 million less of both than the low budget Padres. They have the lowest attendance in the NL. I kinda doubt they could increase payroll to $75 million for a full season. Stanton is going to be making $12-15 million next season if he goes to arbitration and to sign him long term its going to take a contract that has him making $20-35 million per season in 2016 and beyond. I dont know if its even possible for them to sign him and keep any other halfway decent players on the squad with him.
Trout signed that contract when he was pre-arbitration. Stanton is the middle of his second year of arbitration and it’s hard to see him not getting 15M+ this year if he does indeed file for arbitration.
The Marlins will sign him to that contract and send him to Seattle for all their prospects the next day. This of course will be done after the Marlins get the people of the city of Miami to pay for Jeffery Loria’s new mansion and swimming pool.
This topic has just become increasingly annoying, almost like the Justin Upton situation. Until he signs long term or gets traded all we will hear is ridiculous speculation from fans and media alike.
Even when he does sign long term, you will still get endless speculation. Take this from a Rockies and Troy Tulowitzki fan.
They can try, but it’ll take a ton of money. Enough to pay him like the talent he is AND to make him feel like the risk of severe injury before FA isn’t worth it. I certainly don’t think he’ll sign an extension because staying a Marlin is one of his top priorities. It’s hard to willingly throw your lot in with an organization like the Marlins for half a decade or more because of the way they run things. You may be really good for a year or two at a time but they’ve shown that they always blow it up and spend the next several years starting over. They can say they’ll change all they want, but no one will want to be the first guy to take that risk without any proof the Marlins have legitimately changed . That’s why I think they’ll need to blow him away which is something they hate doing.
Not to say this strategy doesn’t work for the Marlins, but it’s not something individual players are thrilled to be a part of if they have a choice (and aren’t desperate).
And if he’s smart, he’ll say thanks, but no thanks and hit the market where the Yankees will give him 1 billion over 75 years.
Who is he? Bobby Bonilla?
So the Yankees are going to pay him not to play for them like Mr. I’m still getting paid Bobby Bonilla?
I honestly think that if Jose Fernandez comes back strong, Stanton continues to mash and the Marlins go out and sign a couple decent players, like a first baseman, a second baseman and some rotation guys, they could compete next year.
There’s no doubt they have young talent. Yelich, Hechavarria, Alvarez, Ozuna, Eovaldi and Cosart are all 25 or younger. They have plenty of prospects. If they compete soon, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stanton resign. They did a much better job trading Reyes, Buerhle and Johnson than they would have done keeping them.
No doubt they’re close to competing (at least for a wild card) but the question with the Marlins will always be “for how long?” They’ve never shown a willingness to build a “dynasty” and always sell off after a small handful of competitive years to get a headstart on the next rebuild. Maybe with the new stadium they’re finally ready to try to have some staying power, but that’s a tough risk for Stanton (or any superstar) to take.
Agreed, Marlins management doesn’t have a great reputation, so if I were Stanton I’d insist upon no-trade clauses, opt-outs, etc. to keep them from pulling the plug. I know they haven’t been willing to do that before, but if anyone has the resume to insist such things, it’s Stanton.
I think they would’ve competed for a wildcard this year if Jose had stayed healthy. The NL East is so weak (as is the NL in general) and they’ve been hovering around .500 all season. No reason to think they wouldn’t have bought more aggressively this year had he not gotten injured.
Then again, it’s the Marlins.
I think he’d give it some serious thought with some opt-outs. The threat of himself getting traded doesn’t seem like it would be too much of a problem (though the NTC to make sure he goes somewhere he wants to go would help). The worry would be that they’d trade everyone else and he’d be stuck in another 3-4 year rebuild, the threat of which would be erased with a well timed opt-out.
I would love to see what Stanton could do in Arlington.
Ballpark wise Stanton would be a beast at Coors Field or Fenway
Good point. How about Houston??? Oh my….
30 plus in Miami probably is 45 or more in Arlington. He would be scary(er) there. or in the Al East. Think about him hitting bomb after bomb over the green monster.
2015: $15MM
2016: $20MM
2017: $20MM
2018: $30MM
2019: $30MM
2020: $35MM
I wish I was joking….This is just mind boggling. These are monopoly numbers.
If he hits Free agency at 27, he’s going to be looking at something like 10/275-10/300. Players like him don’t get to free agency often and if he does Boston, New York etc. will be licking their chops.
– Marlins plan offseason extension talks with Stanton
– Marlins ownership reaffirms commitment to winning
– Marlins sign Stanton to $125 MM / 5 years
– Marlins trade Stanton to Dodgers for 5 prospects and a PTBNL