The Miami Marlins have begun preliminary contract talks with superstar outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is set the hit the open market within the next couple seasons and he would fetch a contract well north of 100 million if he decides to go that route.
Preliminary contract talks between the Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton are underway, and the question now becomes whether the two sides can reach a multiyear deal.
Miami officials remain hopeful. But they first will have to convince the two-time All-Star that the price is right and the commitment is there to remain in South Florida. Thus far, the team is indicating they are.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill shed some light on the Stanton situation during a conference call on Wednesday afternoon.
“Our negotiations, we want to keep them private,” Hill said. “We don’t want to negotiate this through the media. I will say that we’ve reached out to his representative and that negotiations are ongoing.”
The Marlins have had an open dialogue with Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe, throughout October.
It was Stanton’s wish not to negotiate during the regular season, a year in which the slugger led the National League in home runs with 37 and slugging percentage (.555). He finished second in RBIs with 105.
Stanton’s season was cut short on Sept. 11 after he was struck in the face by a pitch.
Despite appearing in 145 games, Stanton showed enough to be one of three NL Most Valuable Player Award finalists. Already this offseason, he has been highly decorated. During the World Series, he was named the NL winner of the Hank Aaron Award, and he was the recipient of the Players Choice Award for Outstanding NL Player. Stanton also was a Gold Glove finalist.
“He’s the MVP in my eyes, but that has not been announced yet,” Hill said. “There are probably some things that will impact our negotiations that will still need to be determined.”
If I was Stanton, I would see what the open market had to offer in a couple years. After the way the Miami front office gutted the team after making several free agent signings I wouldn’t trust them to build a team around him. Though Stanton proved this year he can perform at a MVP level without much talent around him, I think he deserves better than what he has had in Miami since being called up. I am curious to see what kind of numbers Stanton would put up if he had some of the protection in the lineup Miguel Cabrera had in Detroit with a Prince Fielder or Victor Martinez. Only time will tell if he decides to look for greener pastures or decides to stick in out in South Beach.