The Miami Marlins are reportedly prepared to offer star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton the largest deal ever offered in franchise history, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Stanton, a National League MVP candidate, is still under team control until after the 2016 season, but the Marlins intend on reaching an extension with the star outfielder before hand. Stanton could very well get offers north of $300 million in the 2016 offseason from team if he were to, indeed, become a costless agent.
With that being said, the Marlins will need to make Stanton an offer that he can not resist and an offer of $300 million could very well get a signature on the dotted line. Giancarlo Stanton, 24 and turning 25 in November, has told Nightengale that he is watching this season’s Marlins very closely, looking for hope that this team can be a championship contender. He has acknowledged that there “has to be some progression moving forward” for him to give Miami a chance at locking him up for good. The Marlins need to offer him a gigantic deal to lock him up, though, because “he’s the leader of [the Marlins’] franchise.” Marlins’ team president David Samson told Nightengale. Either way, Stanton will be a rich man somewhere in the league.
When Nightengale says the “largest contract in franchise history,” it does not necessarily mean it is going to be in the $300 million range. The most expensive and biggest contract the Marlins have ever given out is to current-Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes, who signed with the team in the 2011-12 offseason. His deal was a six-year, $106 million contract, but he was traded the year after to Toronto in a fire sale, along with Mark Buerhle, Josh Johnson, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio in exchange for Jeff Mathis, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, Yunel Escobar, Jake Marisnick, Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Nicolino.
This fire sale did not make Stanton very happy, as he was left with little to anything and a rebuilding franchise. So, if the Marlins think that they can offer him the largest contract in franchise history and offer only $180 million or so, then they can kiss their hopes of re-signing Stanton goodbye. Given his age of 24, Stanton could very easily control a $300 million deal, if he becomes a costless agent after the 2016 season, so the Marlins need to step up their efforts if they want to keep that from happening.
Stanton is currently experiencing one of the best seasons of his career, as he is slashing .288/.395/.556 with league-leading 37 home runs, 105 runs batted and 92 walks, 24 of which are intentional. He has also accumulated 297 total bases and a .951 OPS. His 26.8% strikeout percentage is the lowest of his career, as his 5.7 WAR, 158 wRC+ and .355 BABIP are the highest of his major league career. In his five-year major league career, Stanton has hit .271/.363/.540 with 154 home runs, 350 runs batted in and a career 19.1 WAR.
This season, the Marlins are paying the 24-year-old outfielder $6.5 million, as this season is his first year of arbitration eligibility. His 2015 salary will increase to well north of $10 million, as his 2016 salary will inch close to $20 million, if not overcome it. As mentioned earlier in this article, Miami will need to pay him at least over $200 million to even have a shot at re-signing the power-hitting outfielder to an extension. Also, the Marlins will need to sign some more high-caliber players this offseason to show Stanton that they are ready to win, which is what Stanton wants to see.