(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Well this would be a pretty solid way for the Marlins to show their commitment to winning:
Obviously the deal’s not done yet, and Ken Rosenthal’s full report quotes Marlins GM Dan Jennings saying, “I wouldn’t say we’re close to anything.” Plus, the Marlins have stated a policy against no-trade clauses, which could prove a sticking point — though there’s talk the Marlins could change that stance in Stanton’s case (and $300-plus million contracts are never easy to move).
The extension, under the currently reported terms, would make Stanton the highest-paid player in professional sports history, edging Miguel Cabrera and the 10-year, $292-million extension he signed with the Tigers in March.
(GIF via GFYCat.com)
Though it’s difficult to predict what baseball’s economy will look like 12 years from now, Stanton seems as good a candidate as any to sign the sport’s first $300-plus million deal. He is far closer to free agency than fellow young star Mike Trout was when he signed his extension with the Angels earlier this year, and though Stanton has missed significant time with injuries in the past three seasons, position players are generally safer bets than pitchers to stay healthy long-term.
Also, Stanton just turned 25 on Saturday and he is almost unspeakably awesome. Despite playing his home games in massive Marlins Park and missing the last two weeks of the 2014 season with a gruesome facial injury suffered on a hit by pitch, Stanton still led the National League with 37 homers in an era when offense is at a huge premium around the game.
And Stanton’s hardly a one-dimensional slugger. He’s a fine defender in right field, a good baserunner who swiped 13 bags in 2014, and perhaps baseball’s most impressive physical specimen at 6’6″ and 240 pounds of pure muscle.
Though many of the moves in their 2012 fire sale now look good in retrospect, the Marlins still suffer from the stigma they earned by bailing so quickly on a team built through an offseason spending spree before their first season in their taxpayer-funded downtown stadium. At that time, Stanton tweeted that he was “pissed” about his team’s moves. But presumably $320 million goes a long way toward mending fences.