Report: Miami Marlins not optimistic about long-term deal for Giancarlo Stanton
By Phil Watson
According to a report, although the Miami Marlins intend to make a serious run at locking up All-Star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, there are some in the organization who don’t like the club’s chances of doing so.
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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported Friday there is pessimism in the Marlins front office about the franchise’s ability to lock up the 24-year-old star for the long-term.
The report said the Marlins were adamant at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline that Stanton wasn’t going to be moved, but some rival teams are said to be looking ahead to this winter if Miami is not able to get Stanton’s name on a long-term contract.
Stanton is having his best season to date, leading the National League with 27 home runs and 76 RBI while slashing .289/.389/.546. He has 72 runs in 114 games to go with 26 doubles and a perfect 10-for-10 mark stealing bases.
He also leads the NL with 232 total bases and 18 intentional walks.
Stanton was said to be very unhappy in the winter of 2012-13 when Miami traded away Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and other veterans and he responded with his worst season as a big-leaguer in 2013, a .249/.365/.480 slash in 116 games with 24 homers and 62 RBI.
Stanton still has two more seasons of club control after this one and with more than a season to go, he already ranks 26th all-time for the most home runs hit before the end of a player’s age 25 season with 144.
He would need 41 homers before the end of the 2015 season to reach the top 10 on that list. Andruw Jones hit 185 homers through his age 25 season in 2002. Alex Rodriguez has the most through that age with 241.