MLB Rumors: Giancarlo Stanton will wait a season before considering long-term deal with Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins have a tendency not to keep premium talent around for the long term. One player with whom they would like to make an exception is slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton has not closed off discussions about a contract extension in the past, but this week he made it clear to Jon Heyman of CBS that he wants to wait for at least a year before considering something long-term.

"Before making the plunge, Stanton very respectfully admitted in the interview here that he’d ‘need a season’ seeing the team before contemplating locking himself into anything long term. Can’t blame him there.”"

Stanton has a career .889 OPS in four seasons with the Marlins. Opposing teams can only salivate at the possibilities of what he could do in a different ballpark and in a lineup with actual talent around him.

Stanton is under team control through 2016, so there is no need for the Marlins to feel a ton of urgency yet. The sooner they sign a deal, however, the better their chances of getting a good value by buying out future arbitration years. If they wanted to trade him they could also benefit from making a move sooner rather than later, as a potential partner would be willing to give up more the longer he is under control.

For as much as they might benefit from acting soon, the team will likely end up working with Stanton’s timetable to try and lock him up. Now they just have to show him enough progress in 2014 to make him want to stick around.