Last week when I floated that Giancarlo Stanton is not a sure bet to sign an extension with the Miami Marlins and could still become available, I got an earful from a contingent who said, “he’s not going anywhere.”
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, shared an exchange with Stanton, who was asked if the recent uptrend of the team made him more apt to signing an extension.
He raised his eyes and said, “Five months doesn’t change five years.”
Stanton, 24, who can be a free agent in two years, is looking like the odds on favorite to become the National League’s MVP. He is batting .299/.407/.564 with 28 doubles, 33 home runs and 97 RBI with 84 runs scored and ten stolen bases.
There has been buzz that the Marlins would pull all the stops to sign Stanton to a long-term contract, but Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports remains steadfast that the Marlins will not be able to afford him.
“I’m not taking it back — I still don’t think Stanton will sign long term with the Marlins, and I don’t think owner Jeffrey Loria will cough up the necessary $200 million-plus to make such a deal happen.”
Stanton loves Miami, but doesn’t trust the Marlins ownership. He does not want to make a longterm commitment to a team he believes could make him waste the best years of his career for an ownership who is not committed to winning.
“We’re definitely in a positive direction. But we have a month to go to make the playoffs. There’s still a long ways to go to be in the same conversation with the best of the best,” he said. “I’m hungry for that.”
I think the Marlins are wasting their time trying to sign Stanton to an extension. As much as money he wants to be a part of a winning culture and a perennial playoff contender.
The Marlins will ultimately trade Stanton, if not this offseason then certainly by the next one.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Mets could jump in and land him. Stanton has seen the Mets up close and personal these last five years and like all players knows full well that the Mets have their own set of financial issues.
Additionally, who actually believes the Mets are capable of committing $60-65 million a year to three players? They are hard-pressed to even afford Daniel Murphy at $8 million and are now desperate to move Bartolo Colon just to get some financial breathing room from an already bottom-five payroll.
The Mets definitely have the prospects to get Stanton, but unfortunately they lack the commitment, the creativity, and the dollars to make it happen.
