THURSDAY: The deal also includes $1MM annually in assorted award-related performance bonuses, tweets Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs.
TUESDAY, 4:25pm: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets the full breakdown: after earning the previously-reported $30MM total over the first three years of the deal, Stanton will take home annual values of $25MM (2018), $26MM (2019, 2020), $29MM (2021, 2022), $32MM (2023, 2024, 2025), $29MM (2026), and $25MM (2027).
The deal also includes a $25MM club option for 2028, which comes with a $10MM buyout to make up the remainder of the guaranteed value in the deal.
2:29pm: The highest annual salary in the deal is $32MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. As Rosenthal notes, that rate matches the biggest single hit in the Cabrera deal but falls shy of Mike Trout’s highest-paid season.
12:31pm: ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports that Stanton’s contract is heavily backloaded — a structure which Stanton actually desired in order to leave the front office with flexibility to add significant pieces in order to contend in the immediate future.
Stanton will earn just $6.5MM in 2015, $9MM in 2016 and $14.5MM in 2017 before earning $77MM total over the following three seasons. In other words, should he opt out of his deal, he’ll have received $107MM over six years (an AAV of $17.83MM) and be walking away from seven years and $218MM (an AAV of $31.14MM).
MONDAY, 4:40pm: Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has confirmed the signing of Stanton to a 13-year deal, reports Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald. Loria called this a “landmark day” and noted, “It means everything to the franchise. We have a face of the franchise for the next 13 years.” Loria said he expects Stanton to be a Marlin for the next 13 seasons. “I did this for the city, the fans, for Giancarlo, our team, for myself and for baseball,” Loria told Navarro.
2:18pm: Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter) that the deal has been finalized and a press conference will be held at 11am on Wednesday of this week to announce the extension.
10:27am: The Marlins and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton are in agreement on a 13-year, $325MM contract extension that will set the benchmark as the new largest contract in the history of professional sports, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports. While the deal hasn’t yet been made official, Heyman reports that a press conference should be held later this week and “there is a clear understanding the deal will be finalized.” Stanton is a client of the Wasserman Media Group’s Joel Wolfe.
The extension contains a full no-trade clause and Stanton “will be able to opt out not long after he turns 30,” according to Heyman, so it would seem that the opt-out clause can be triggered after the 2019 season, or after 2020 at the very latest. Stanton just celebrated his 25th birthday on November 8.
Stanton’s groundbreaking contract will buy out 11 free agent years, valuing each of those seasons in the $26-27MM range, depending on how much he’d have earned in arbitration over the next two seasons (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged him for a $13MM salary in 2015 alone). The new contract will run through the 2027 season, after which Stanton will be 37 years of age. Of course, that assumes that Stanton does not exercise the opt-out clause, at which point he could be able to seek an even larger annual commitment over a longer term, should he continue to perform as he has to this point in his career.
The runner-up to Clayton Kershaw in this year’s MVP voting, Stanton finished the season with a .288/.395/.555 batting line and 37 home runs — a figure that tied his career best and also led the National League. Still just 25, Stanton has nearly five full seasons under his belt and has authored a .271/.364/.540 batting line with 154 home runs while playing many of his games in the pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. Defensive Runs Saved considers Stanton to be an excellent right fielder, pegging his career at +26 run. Ultimate Zone Rating has him at +14.3 — an average of 3.3 runs saved per 150 games. In total, Baseball-Reference.com values Stanton’s career to date at 21.2 wins above replacement, while Fangraphs has him at 19.5 WAR.
Unlike many players that sign prodigious contracts, however, Stanton is not only being compensated for what he has done, but for what he could do in his prime. That he’s yet to reach his prime is a frightening thought (particularly for Major League pitchers), and it’s reasonable to think that Stanton’s best years may not even have come yet. The Marlins will secure far more of Stanton’s prime than most $200MM+ extensions do, and the team is well-positioned to take on a significant long-term deal, as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd highlighted recently.
The question, of course, is how Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria will adjust the team’s payroll going forward. The Marlins have operated on a payroll between $40MM and $60MM in four of the past five seasons, but such a sum won’t be feasible if and when Stanton’s annual commitment approaches or even exceeds $30MM per season. Stanton’s extension appears to be as much a statement to the city of Miami that the Marlins intend to compete as it does a commitment to a clearly elite player.
By adding a no-trade clause, the Marlins have broken a club policy. The team’s previous record contract was that of Jose Reyes, but Reyes was dealt to Toronto just one year after signing his $106MM contract, further fueling widespread skepticism and cynicism toward the organization anytime it signed or acquired a player. That trade also enraged Stanton, who candidly tweeted at the time that he was “pissed off.” However, Stanton will have full say over his future, and it can even be argued that the Reyes/Mark Buehrle/Josh Johnson blockbuster helped set the stage for this extension, as it alleviated long-term payroll commitments for the Marlins and brought in talented, controllable names such as Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino and Jake Marisnick, the latter of whom was a key component in acquiring Jarred Cosart.
The Marlins will now field a long-term outfield mix of Stanton in right field, Marcell Ozuna in center field and Christian Yelich in left field — a supremely talented trio that should hit near the top or in the middle of the team’s batting order for the foreseeable future. Miami also boasts an impressive group of young pitchers, including ace Jose Fernandez (who is recovering from Tommy John surgery), Alvarez, Cosart, and Nathan Eovaldi (to say nothing of top prospects Andrew Heaney and, eventually Tyler Kolek). Additional options that are in or potentially ready to pitch in the Majors include Tom Koehler, Anthony DeSclafani and Brian Flynn. GM Dan Jennings and president of baseball operations Michael Hill will be able to use that pitching talent as they see fit to field a strong rotation and perhaps to acquire young hitters in trades.
Stepping back and looking at the big picture, Stanton’s $25MM average annual value certainly isn’t a record, but the length and guarantee on his commitment certainly are. Currently, Miguel Cabrera is owed $292MM over the life of his contract, although that was actually a $248MM extension on top of two guaranteed contract seasons. In terms of the most amount of “new money” ever guaranteed on a contract, Alex Rodriguez‘s 10-year, $275MM contract set the bar prior to this deal. Other examples of $200MM+ contracts include 10-year, $240MM contracts to both Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano, a 10-year, $225MM extension for Joey Votto and a nine-year, $214MM pact for Prince Fielder. (Clayton Kershaw signed a seven-year, $215MM extension with the Dodgers last offseason as well.)
Stanton will surpass all of those impressive names in setting a pair of records that don’t figure to be broken in the near future. Though he’s been a fixture among trade rumors for the better part of four years, Stanton will ultimately remain rooted in Miami sports for at least the next several years and within the history books long after his days as a Marlin are done.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported that Stanton and the Marlins were discussing a deal in the 10-year/$300MM range. Christopher Meola appears to have been the first to learn of the deal’s finalization, as he tweeted the exact terms on Thursday night.
This deal is preposterous (13 years!!) yet I am really not upset by it at all.
It was last reported that there is going to be an opt-out after the 5th year……So in reality this really is a 5 year deal.
And why would Stanton opt out of a what would approximately be then 8 year/$200 million contract?
Because someone wants to pay him more, see A-Rod, -AJ Burnett, JD Drew, CC………
We shall see, but as Seamaholic said, only if he’s playing well
He also does have a history of injuries. In 4 of his 5 seasons, he’s played in Under 150 games. And for the record, when Albert Pujols got his contract with the Angels, he only missed the 150 game mark Twice and Robinson Cano has played in 157+ games the past 8 years. Also, A-Rod’s terrible extension came after 7 straight years of 150+ games.
If he can’t stay healthy, he’s obviously not opting out, but the Marlins clearly think he will stay healthy, or they wouldn’t give him a 13 year deal. So if we can get past that, than we can look at the actual issue, which is that Stanton would have roughly an 8/200 deal in hand by continuing his contract, or FA.
Given that he may be the only 500HR potential, in a pitcher’s park, with a steadily rising contact rate/BA and he will be only 30 years old and this would take place 5 years from now, yeah, he would definitely opt out if he stays healthy over the next five years.
Joey Votto would have gotten a similar contract eight years prior as a first baseman. It would be a no-brainer.
But it all depends on the structuring. It could pay him 18-20 mil over the first 5 years, than jump to 28-30 over the last 8 years, giving him incentive to stay in Miami. There’s no doubt that Stanton is signing this deal under the intention that Marlins are gonna put some money out to put a contender on the field cause that was Stantons main deal, winning. So if the Marlins are serious, it would benefit them to make sure the final 8 years is where the most money per year is to make sure he has more incentive to not opt out if the Marlins are full filling their part of the deal and putting a winning team on the field. A lot of it’s gonna depend on the structuring of the deal.
I agree, we don’t have all of the answers yet.
Giancarlo Stanton is much younger then those guys were. I bet his youth equaled out his injury history.
If he continues to rake, and his agent tells him he can get 10 Years 275 then he surely will.
You don’t think big market teams are cautious now about giving 30+ year olds longer contracts? (I say that because he’ll be over 30 if he opts out). In 5 years from now we shall see if Cano fades. Pujols will definitely be down to 15-20 HR a year with a slugging % in the low to mid 400’s. Ask the Angels if they’ll still want him for an average of about $25 million a year for 5 more years after? Could be Ryan Howard 2.0 then, at an older age of course.
As long as he’s healthy, he’ll opt out. They ALWAYS opt out. If he’s hurt, that’s a different story. That’s why they want the long contract – and it’s exactly why the clubs shouldn’t give them out.
“As long as he’s healthy, he’ll opt out.”
That’s a big concern for him. I mentioned before, he’s only played 150 games Once in 5 years.
I could absolutely see him opting out, especially if he maintains or exceeds his current production levels. He can get a greater AAR with a contender. He will not spend 13 years in Miami.
Only if he’s playing well (i.e. “best player in the game” type well). In which case, the Marlins lose because he opts out. Opt-outs are all for the player, not the team.
Almost every team that lost a player to an opt-out ended up better. JD Drew? Dodgers were happy to be rid of him. CC Sabathia? Bet the Yankees wish they hadn’t re-upped him. A.J. Burnett? I’m betting Toronto is happy letting him go for 5/82.5. A-Rod? We all know how that one turned out..
Unless he gets hurt or his production dips, then it’s a 13 year albatross that could be the death of the franchise
That’s a definite possibility. But if he opts for Free Agenecy then, he’ll still get a massive pile of money (assuming no injuries or massive skill dropoff).
well you should be. that should’ve been your contract! are you shaking your fist in the air like i am?
It’s a 5 year contract. You don’t understand the deal.
It’s a 13 year contract, not 5. It’s a 13 year contract with Stanton having the option to leave after 5-6 years if he wants to it. If he don’t wanna leave, it’s 13 years. The structuring is what’s gonna be most important. Marlins are likely to try n keep the 1st 5 years in their favor, 18-20 mil than have it around 28-30 over the last 8 to give Stanton incentive to wanna stay in Miami if they’re full filling their part of the deal, cause it’s no secret winning is important to Stanton, so for him to sign this he’s obviously under the impression that Miami is gonna attempt to put a contender on the field going forward. And just by doing this says they are, the trade for another young pitcher at the deadline says Miami is looking to finally win. This is a 13 year contract, with an opt out option after 5 or 6. You’re saying it’s a 5 year deal as if Stanton has already exercised the opt out option before the deals even final.
It’s a five year deal with an eight year player option, or six with a seven year player option. Think about that. Stanton, if this is structured how I believe it will be (35 MM ’15-’16, 20 MM a year ’17-’20 for 6/115 before opt out and 7/210 after optout), might easily opt in if his performance falters at all in 2019 or 2020. That’s a lot of money. It’s not going to be frontloaded. Even if it’s 25 per year for the whole deal that’s still 175-200 MM Stanton is opting out of. Sabathia was opting out of four years. Burnett and Drew opted out of two. A-Rod opted out of four. None had 7-8 years to opt into.
As soon as the ink is dry it becomes the worst contract in baseball
Still not as bad as Pujols II, A-Rod II, or Sabathia II. Not even as bad as Miggy’s current contract, I’d wager.
No love for Verlander?
Nope this is worse, especially with the no trade clause and opt out (which seems like a formality as I don’t see a possibility of him exercising it). Stanton is a great player but this is a contract you give to a once in a generation type player (Trout, Mantle, etc.)
The NTC is more of a formality than a hindrance to baseball operations. If the team stinks and decides to blow it up, you think Stanton is going to evoke the NTC to block a trade? I highly doubt it.
Lets ask Jose Reyes & Mark Buerhle if they would have liked to block a trade from the biggest tax haven in America to going to Canada, where the dollar isn’t even worth as much.
You are splitting hairs saying this would be a contract for Trout but not Stanton
Trout is a 5 tool player who has been top 2 in MVP voting sense his first year in the majors and has never been hurt. Stanton is a bit more one dimensional of a player as he is only elite when it comes to power and has missed quite a bit of time with injury. Stanton is an amazing talent but there is a big drop off after Trout
Other than triples, there stats were almost identical this year. Just because Stanton has one tool that is significantly better than all others (other than maybe Simmons defense I’d argue Stanton’s power might be the one most dominate tool in the game) doesn’t mean he is any less of a five tool player. Every one of his tools is above average.
Also, if we are talking about injuries let’s talk about the future, not the past. Historically, a CF who plays fast on the base paths is going to go through a lot more wear and tear than a power hitting RF (to use one of your examples: Mickey Mantle)
This year their stats were roughly identical. But what about the previous two years? Stanton doesn’t have the speed and baserunning ability of Trout, nor does he have the defensive skills. Trout is the better player overall. Trout’s contract was a no-brainer. This was more about the Marlins making a statement, much like the Angels signing Albert Pujols.
I’m not saying Trout’s contract wasn’t a no brainer. It was an absolute steal. I’m just pointing out that saying Trout deserves a contract like that and Stanton doesn’t is really just splitting hairs.
Trout also doesn’t have the power that Stanton has. While I’d agree that Trout has a more unbelievable tools, I would argue, out of the 10 tools between them, Stanton’s power is the best by a long shot. That has to be taken into account for something. Again, not saying Stanton is better, but Bleed_Orange was acting like he isn’t in the same stratosphere.
Trout also, yknow, has two other top-2 MVP finishes in 2012-2013 and had more PA this year with a better wRC+. Trout could be a Hall of Fame lock before this current deal is over. Stanton might be on a Hall of Fame path. Trout is younger and better. There’s really no comparison here.
MVP finish is irrelevant. Todd Helton’s 2000 was far superior to Trout’s 2014 and he only finished 5th that year. MVP is relative.
I very much disagree on it being “far superior” than Trout’s 2014. It’s also widely acknowledged after the fact that Helton probably should have been top-3. I find their years close to being equal, and Trout won MVP in his worst year. Actual MVP finish can be considered irrelevant, but deserving finish IMO is worthwhile to consider. Kent and Bonds were up there that year, but Helton was right there with them. Trout clearly deserved the 2014 MVP. And he was also well ahead of Stanton. Also, Trout’s 2012 and 2013 are significantly better than Helton’s 2000, or any of Helton’s seasons.
I would say there is a higher chance of him opting out then not at this point. Especially if contracts continue to get bigger and bigger like they have in the past 10 years.
Opt out is after 6 years, he will be 31, the contract is most likely back loaded. Can’t see to much incentive for him to opt out then unless he’s putting up Pujols like number (prior to his angles days) for the next 6 years. I can’t imagine anyone giving him a 200+ million dollar contract at 31. He opts in
Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez have all secured 200 MM guarantees at age 31 or older since 2007. Votto’s 200 MM guarantee starts this year, I believe, and Votto’s about that age, too. In six years? I think you’re overrating what 200 MM will be. I’d expect several more players to reach 200 MM before then, including possibly Scherzer this offseason. We also need to see how it’s structured before passing judgment, and also need to see where Miami is. If Miami is bad, Stanton may exercise it simply to leave.
Not to mention, in 6 years the value of $200MM will be worth about what $177MM is today. As a result, contracts for elite players will likely at least match pace with inflation, such that AAVs will go over $25MM for them much more regularly.
Agree. Over 634 games to date, Stanton has a 21.2 WAR, but Trout over only 493 games to date has a 28.2 WAR. Now, at the end of his deal, Trout will be making $33M for the last year…but he is that generational player. Stanton isn’t.
I always like to give an honorable mention to Prince Fielder
Either they’re bad contracts, or too many people have too many unrealistic expectations for these contracts to work the way they want them to. These contracts are also about selling a brand that is on TV every night. Just like actors. If Stanton opts out then it’s a great deal like the Trout extension. But if he doesn’t, it’ll be the same as Pujols, A-Rod, CC, Verlander, etc. This contract (pending the opt out decision) covers Stanton through his age 38 season. He will decline, just as Pujols, A-Rod, CC, and Verlander have.
ummm…good luck signing him for less.
The Marlins over paid to get him to avoid free agency. I think this is one of those rare cases where he would have gotten less in free agency. It would have been a massive contract but not 13 years 325.
history dictates otherwise. guys like him get paid.
No it doesn’t. This is a history making deal. Never has anyone in baseball talked about 13 year deals… They will now obviously.
yeah it does, history shows that the top guys make history making deals. what are you expecting to happen? there’s no way a guy like him today is going to get a deal as little as a-rod’s. cost of signing these guys always goes up.
It’s an average of $25 mil a year. At Stanton’s age an his potential, that’s not overpaying. That’s right on par with what he should have gotten, and likely could have gotten closer to $30 mil a year had he went to FA if he duplicated last season over the next 2. Stanton got what he deserved to get.
If he went to FA assuming 2/35 for ’15-’16 in arb, the equivalent of this year was 11/290, which would’ve been a record-breaking deal on its own merits.
Best contract in MLB history. You just don’t understand it. It’s basically 5 years for $85-$100 million for Stanton in his prime years aged 25-30. Russell Martin just got $82 million! Loria cleaned up on this deal! Very intelligent
and if he gets hurt or his production lowers? plus he just got beamed in the cheek by a fastball. that *could play mind games w/ him at the plate. like i said *could
That’s the risk of every contract ever signed in any professional sport. You can ask “and if he gets hurt or his production lowers?” about literally every contract. Because of his youth though, this is a gamble that certainly seems of better value than giving Pujols ungodly sums of money when he is already in the years he is more likely to decline.
Literally everyone is at risk to injury. You can’t not sign someone because he “might get hurt” when that someone is Giancarlo Stanton
No its still a 13 year deal and could become a 5 year deal. While short term it looks like a great contract. However take it from me a Reds fan, things can go south in a hurry. Votto Sign his giant 9 year contract extension on top of a three year contract so he got 256 million for 12 years Fast forward to now, 3 years later and Votto has missed 140 games due to injury. If,Stanton unfortunately has the same fate it will not be a 5 year contract.
Exactly. Stanton theoretically could just stop trying from here on out and still get paid. Miami assumes all risk whereas Stanton has all the protection. The 5 year opt out makes the deal even worse.
You’re calling the most expensive contract in MLB history the best one? Explain to me how you think this can top Trout’s contract??
Mike Trout, 6/144 says hello.
I hate to say this as a Reds fan but the worst contract in baseball is that of Joey Votto. Still has 9 years and 206 million remaining.
Hes still a 5+ WAR a year player. He had 2 WAR in what, 1/3rd of a season last year? I think Ryan Howard who is.. not very good to say the least could be the worst contract.
Good thing for Philly fans is their is only 2 years left remaining on it. I am not hinting that Votto is a bad player. He is a good player. The contract just seems bad 3 years into it. If he regains his form and can stay healthy then I may have a different opinion. At this point in time though it hasnt worked out as scripted.
Howard’s giving no value, though. He’ll probably be the first player ever to be below replacement level for the entirety of a 100 MM contract. Even Zito was a tad above replacement level.
I think you’ll be saying otherwise once Fielder and Pujols get deeper into their deals.
Fielder had 1 bad year, and it was based off an injury after like 9 years of 150+ games. Pujols’ was bad the minute the ink dried.
Fielder has gotten progressively worse every year since he’s signed his current deal, and has longer left on it than Howard had when his extension was new. Fielder’s always had questions about how long he’d be able to continue to play at any level, let alone an elite one, because of his physique.
I think it’s a very optimistic person that believes Fielder will return to his .900 OPS and not-unacceptably-bad-defensively-given-that-offense ways for the next 6 years.
I am hoping votto can get out of his own head, love the guy as a player, but he is too much of head case.
What? How is he a head case? I’ve never heard anything about him being a headcase? Honest curiosity, but do you have articles backing this up?
Miguel Cabrera says hi
Definitely not as bad as paying Pujols through his age 42 season.
Historically, its not even close to being as bad as Mike Hampton’s deal.
that is a ridiculous amount of money. I mean cmon, he’s playing a game.
He’s not getting payed to play a game. He’s getting paid to generate revenue. If a million people payed $20+ to watch you do whatever you do all day, you’d be able to command that salary too.
Yeah because I enjoy spending $500 to take my kids to a baseball game. These contracts are pricing people out of the park.
That makes zero sense. Contracts don’t have any impact over the price of a ticket. A ticket is worth the exact amount someone is willing to pay for it. When people stop paying for it, owners will stop charging it. Otherwise, that money is coming in whether you buy a ticket or not. Where should that money go? Loria’s pockets?
Did the Marlins sell out every game?
No – but they do use Groupon to try and sellout opening day each year, haha.
Without doing research, I’m going to guess that they did not. I’m also going to guess that Jeffrey Loria has people working for him that are much better at analyzing their numbers and maximizing their profit than the people on an internet comments section.
Im not arguing about numbers. You simply stated “When people stop paying for it, owners will stop charging it.”
It seems people weren’t paying for it…
I’m saying enough people are paying for it, obviously. According to a Forbes article I just found, their revenue is $159M. So, clearly still in the black.
this is the internet. everyone’s just going to take you for what you literally said. there’s no room for critical thinking.
That doesn’t necessarily mean “people” are paying for it. A vast majority of revenues is media contracts both on the local level and the national level. Plus there’s revenue sharing. Attendance is just one factor.
I don’t see your point. Is the money from television licensing fake? Can it not be used to purchase goods and services the same way cash from gate receipts can? Where does the TV network get the money to pay the MLB team? Yes, the “people”. Its costumers. Yes, it’s all part of a large formula with the ultimate goal of generating the most income possible. Ticket sales, merchandise, vending sales, TV deals, logo licensing, and on and on and on. None of that exists without the players. If people don’t understand that players on the field are a product that’s being sold by MLB owners, then I really don’t know what to say. And if you don’t get where players’ salaries are coming from and how they’re dictated by the market, then I’m not really sure I can convince you that they’re not being over-payed “to play a game”.
Your main and only point was about ticket sales.
No, my main point was that he’s not being payed to play a game. He’s getting paid to generate revenue. I guess I should have said: “when people are willing to pay $20+ to watch you do whatever you do all day, and buy a shirt with your name on it, and subscribe to a channel that has a live feed, and buys $7 hot dogs while watching you, and your company can charge people who come see you for parking, and they can use your likeness to sell memorabilia, and…” You’re missing the main point and focusing on semantics.
“Contracts don’t have any impact over the price of a ticket. A ticket is worth the exact amount someone is willing to pay for it. When people stop paying for it, owners will stop charging it.”
All I said was people aren’t paying for the tickets, hence the reason the stadium is usually empty. I should have explained their revenue comes from other sources, not just ticket sales, or lack there of.
You’re right about the conversation being about ticket sales. I commented on two different threads and I just confused them. But I’m not saying the Marlins sell out every game, or that they need to. I’m saying they adjust the price to an amount they find most profitable. They could sell tickets for $1 apiece and sell out every game, but probably not make much money. They could also sell tickets for a million apiece, make a ton of money off each sale, but probably not sell many tickets at all. In the middle somewhere is a perfect balance between profit per ticket and amount sold, which maximizes total revenue. That number is calculated by a group of people with a better understanding of the business of the Miami Marlins than anyone on this post.
Wait…I take that back. I’m not going crazy. In response to “that is a ridiculous amount of money. I mean cmon, he’s playing a game.” Literally the first thing I said, is “He’s not getting payed to play a game. He’s getting paid to generate revenue.” Again, this discussion has taken a turn towards arguing semantics. I think the point I have been trying to make is pretty clear.
The objective is not to sell out every game. You could give out tickets for free and i like the odds that the Marlines wouldn’t have sold out every game. Cutting a ticket price in half does not automatically mean twice as many people will be interested
Technically cutting the price in half doesn’t mean they need to double the amount of people buying tickets to come out ahead, considering the prices of food & alcohol at the stadiums.
If that’s what you got out of that you clearly were missing the point
“That makes zero sense. Contracts don’t have any impact over the price of a ticket. A ticket is worth the exact amount someone is willing to pay for it. When people stop paying for it, owners will stop charging it.”
That would only be true if owners sold out every single game. It also hurts your argument that MLB attendance has been slowly going down for years now.
Attendance has nothing to do with it. It’s about revenue. If the Marlins sold one seat per season for 300 million bucks, I’m sure they’d be ok with it. Again, they’re concerned about maximizing their profit…not making sure every fan can get to a game.
If ticket sales hit a sharp decline, and the Marlins started losing money, they’d charge less. But, as of now, they’re still making a ton of money and have no motivation to lower prices. The market dictates prices, not player salaries.
“It also hurts your argument that MLB attendance has been slowly going down for years now.”
Umm, I’m not sure where you get that from. MLB attendance has been from 73-75 million the past 10 years
Say what? This made zero sense. try it again. Player contracts have a direct impact to ticket prices.
So, owners just keep raising ticket prices in order to pay for contracts they’ve committed to? Like a bake sale or something? You’ve got it very backwards.
Baseball’s target audience isn’t the people that have to debate if they can afford to take their family to a game. They are perfectly fine with those people watching from home. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just the truth.
Funny statement coming from a Cards fan. The Cards average ticket is around $34. The Cards drew 3.5 million fans in 2014. The Pirates average ticket was $18+ and they drew 2.5 million fans in 2014. The difference in gate receipts is roughly $75 million – 2.5x what the Cards make in local TV and >4x what the Bucs make on local TV.
Thus, I’d be highly dubious that Pittsburgh’s front office thinks the way you do. Why do you think they had all those fireworks nights and post-game concerts during 20 seasons of losing baseball? They’re fixing attendance now by winning, but they’re going to be crippled by a low ticket price as a result of that losing for years to come. Their goal is, well… to become St. Louis.
The owners will charge whatever they can to maximize revenue, regardless of payroll obligations. Also, you can take a family of 5 top almost any park in the country for $125. You don’t need to sit behind the dugout or buy $30/ea in concessions. Get cheap seats on non-premium games and bring your food in from the outside. Pretty sure most if not all stadiums allow that.
Or people are making excuses for not doing better in their career paths, overall spending habits, etc. Scrody13 is absolutely correct. When one has a great talent, and they actually use it instead of making excuses, they get rewarded because they’re the ones we all go to for comfort after a long day of working hard. Marines overseas look to these talents to get their minds off of war. I think that deserves a few more monetary incentives. Otherwise, one is just jealous and making excuses. If I have kids to take to the ballpark in the first place, I’m making sure I can spend $500 that day without worry.
Attendance doesn’t seem to be hurting most teams too much. It’s also only $500 if you want great seats. I’ve been to Mets games w/ $10 tickets where I eat before I go and park a short walk from the stadium and the entire trip for me and three friends will cost a grand total of ~$80 if we get hungry, and we’re college kids going on little to no income.
To get that kind of salary, you need to be Mike Trout good. Stanton might be good, but he’s no Mike Trout.
Its his job… and extremely hard to do…
I would say that being a surgeon is harder. I would say that being an architect is even harder (or requires more skills), yet they are paid accordingly. Professional athletes are overpaid. They are commodities, though, so I understand why they are overpaid. The argument that they have a more difficult job/career than other people is highly questionable.
There are a lot more very good surgeons and architects in the world than there are All-Star caliber baseball players.
True. Their value lies in their market, though. A surgeon isn’t an entertainer like an athlete is, so their worth becomes less in our society.
I never said it was harder than those things *facepalm*
So the owners should be able to pocket the money instead? Nah, no thanks.
no. Not at all what I’m saying. The players deserve their share.
I can’t stand that reply “he is playing a GAME”. Well no kidding. If Julia Roberts movie stinks she still gets paid just to act.
I wish I had his talent wow that’s alot of money
“there is a clear understanding the deal will be finalized.
Just wait till the Marlin fans understand that they are the ones who will be paying for it!
Donald Trump is right, always use money other then yours!
Doesn’t all payroll come out of revenue?
Mike Trout is licking his lips
unfortunately
Mike Trout is face palming after the deal that he signed.
He may be face-palming, but he’s still doing it while sitting comfortably on an enormous pile of money.
Ya cuz making over $30 million/yr. at the end of his contract is just awful and rage inducing……………… then he hits the market again in his prime which could potentially be as the greatest player ever. In a market that is overpaying like crazy he could in theory approach a 1/2 a billion dollar contract. Sucks to be him………
I’m pretty sure Mike Trout still lives in his parents’ South Jersey basement in the off-season. Based on that alone, he doesn’t really seem like the money obsessed type.
Is moving in the fences a clause in the contract? Because if I were Stanton, I’d prefer not spending the rest of my career playing half my games with those dimensions.
This is the one guy in baseball where it really doesn’t matter where the fences are.
Fences affect every player. He’d definitely hit more homers playing in almost any other stadium.
Doubtful. He doesn’t hit any cheapies. He ALWAYS hits more homers at home than the road.
Stanton hits the ball 95-110 MPH. The exit velocity bracket most affected by parks is more 90-95, up to 100. Stanton regularly demolishes the ball. There was an excellent article recently that I read that showed based off of Stanton’s batted ball authority he probably wouldn’t do much/any better or worse in other parks. I think Tony Blengino of Fangraphs wrote it.
If I were Stanton, I really wouldn’t care where I’m playing making $25 million a year for 13 years.
But if you have that kind of sway, you might as well use it to your advantage.
Good for Miami. I’m glad their fans get to watch a special player for years to come. Hopefully this works out well and they continue to build around Stanton.
Was that typo intentional?
I remember doing an edit…but don’t remember what I fixed? Haha
‘tears to come’ lol
Haha. That is funny. But no, not intentional.
HaHa. I wouldn’t even change it.
That’s approximately $154,000 per game… not too shabby.
Even when he is sitting out with a “contusion”
yep
This is a bit of a “Congratulations, I’m sorry” thing. Congratulations on the contract, sorry you’re on the Marlins for the rest of your life.
He can hit Free-Agency at 30 years old. Sounds terrible, poor guy.
True. But no one knows in sports knows how long the magic lasts.
I think he’ll be okay.
So what do the rest of the NL East fans think of this?
Pitch around him for 13 years.
Well as an AL East fan, I’m glad we don’t hear these “Stanton to the Red Sox for JBJ and Middlebrooks” rumors now from their fans.
The funny thing is, after signing this contract that will be much closer to his actual trade value.
In the latter years maybe, but not now.
His trade value drops significantly the second he signs this contract.
Yeah I suppose.
I think the NTC is more of a detriment to this. I don’t know if there’s any precedent for this, but I wonder if Stanton would consider, in four or five years when he’s close to the opt out, exercising his opt out in advance and working out a more manageable 31-37 contract with an acquiring team. Obviously he wouldn’t want to lose money, but he could tack on a year or two to facilitate a deal and get out of Miami if they don’t end up a contender perenially.
Ill drink to that, phew
The funny thing is the only time I ever hear those rumors are from non-Red Sox fans.
Look obviously I’m not saying all of the fans. There are many smart ones like yourself, but trust me, there have been several that have said that (and this goes for All fan bases, Yankee fans did it with King Felix too I will admit so I’m not singling out Sox fans for making ridiculous proposals. This happens with All fan bases).
Yes and usually the silly trade suggestions typically come from a small minority within a fanbase and they get trumpeted as representing the entire fanbase.
As a Yankee fan, I know the feeling too.
They propose them on MLBs website all the time, some were even guaranteed that Stanton was gonna be in Boston
Reading any comments from any team on there will make your head hurt.
JBJ was supposed to have massive value… then the Tigers just bi-passed the Red Sox and traded for Gose from the Blue Jays for fair value.
JBJ and Gose have almost identical resumes (except for the Boston propaganda machine).
Hubris prevented the Red Sox from moving JBJ. They are stuck with JBJ as their 5th outfielder now.
You do know Anthony Gose was once highly regarded, right? And you’re aware that JBJ’s stock has plummeted to the point where he’s about as regarded as Gose, right? Gose has good trade value awhile back, and JBJ had hype a few years ago. Prospects fail. It happens. I really don’t get your point. Travis isn’t a match for Boston anyway with Pedroia/Bogaerts/Betts in the fold. He’s a better fit for Toronto with their 2B need.
2014 numbers
GOSE (age: 24)
fWAR: 1.3 in 94 games
UZR/150 of 23.0 as Centerfielder
JBJ (age: 24)
fWAR: -0.1 in 127 games
UZR/150: 22.6 as a Centerfielder
He won’t be a Marlin for the next 13yrs.
Exactly why it’s a great deal for the Fish
I’d say it’s 50/50 right now whether he’d actually exercise the opt-out. I’m not passing judgment on this deal until we hear how backloaded it is. If he’s earning 30 MM a year for seven free agent years from 31-37 and suffered any setback at age 29-30, you can bet he’s not opting out.
I’m okay with it. I like watching Stanton ~20 times a year, even if he kills the Mets. He’s a superstar. I don’t think Miami will build a phenomenal roster once he begins to get paid 20-30 MM but I can see their young core being a force to be reckoned with the next few years if some of them develop positively at all.
Wonder how much of that the Marlins will have to eat in the next scheduled fire sale in 2017.
Is this going to be average the entire time ($25MM per year?) It actually changes my opinion about the deal based on how the money is paid out:
A) If it is frontloaded, it could turn out to be a steal.
B) If it is same amount per year, then it could be a problem.
C) If it’s backloaded, then the Marlins are making a huge mistake that they literally have to do.
Its probably not front loaded. not too many players accept a front loaded deal
teams don’t give front loaded contracts … why wouldn’t a player want/accept a front loaded? although, you probably would take the scheduled payments after winning the lotto
Why wouldn’t a player accept it? Money today is always more valuable than money tomorrow. It is the teams, not the players, that push for a back loaded deal.
It’s not that players won’t accept them. Last year we heard Peralta wanted minimum 4/52 and when St. Louis came calling with just that amount (4/53, but same thing) frontloaded, he jumped on it. The issue is normally payroll allocation for teams. If a team has a lot of payroll flexibility and few needs, like STL last year, they can frontload a deal and it’s always better for a player to get their money earlier. Yknow, time value of money & all..
You never front load if you’re ownership. Money today is always more valuable than money tomorrow.
Understood, but I personally look at it no differently than procrastinating on a paper. In a theory you are undervaluing him early and overvaluing him when he’s older.
But the quality of your paper doesn’t necessarily have to go down depending on when you wrote it. An “A” is an “A.” In fact, holding off on the paper can bring you more joy because you know what you are doing today (going to the movies, etc.), so write the paper during the uncertain tomorrow.
That doesn’t hold true for an owner and money, which is why front loading contracts is a horrible idea if you are an owner.
I understand both sides. I guess I’m not owner material because I look at the current value of the player as being greater than the value of the player at the end of the deal, so the pay should match this.
There really isn’t another “side” to understand. Everybody knows the current value of the player will be higher than the back end value. But in the end, 325 million is what you are paying the player. So, the only logical thing to do is to try to back load the deal. That way, you have more money to spend to surround the player with better talent during his prime years. It also helps to decrease the amount of money you are actually paying the player because of inflation. It also helps to increase the value you are getting from the contract because the market rate will increase as you go along. So 13 years from now, as Stanton declines in production, you might actually be getting a good deal still due to the increase of the price of WAR. There really isn’t an argument for front loading the contract.
If it’s backloaded then its present value is way less than 325 MM. If it’s frontloaded then the present value will be closer to 325 MM, so it works both ways.
Thats a lot of money but I think this can be a bargain for the Marlins if everything is Going well, and with everything im thinking in Stanton staying healthy and producing like last year, it would be a 25$mm per year. In the good case is a good one, but the contract is large and can turn it out very bad for the team.
Honestly, I am kind of glad this happened. It’s nice seeing players stick with one team for their career. Hopefully the Marlins don’t go full Marlin and trade him away halfway into it.
BAHAHAH
13 years is absurd. MLB ought to have 5 year max contracts. Small market teams simply can’t compete with these kinds of deals.
This isn’t the Red Sox, Yankees, or Dodgers doing this… this is the notoriously cheap Marlins making the deal.
Miami is a HUGE market…and aren’t they the same team who literally bought both of their World Series champion teams and then dismantled them during the following off-season? Yes, sorry to say but Miami is a large market team.
Yet they typically act like a small market team.
Market size and the number of people living in an area are not the same thing. People have to have an interest in the product.
Disinterested because the team makes too many poor decisions that disenfranchise the fanbase and doesn’t invest in a product to keep their attention.
Deadspin received copies of the Marlins’ financial documents in 2008 and 2009. They received about as much as revenue from revenue sharing as they did from attendance, their local media deals, parking and concessions.
Without revenue sharing and the MLB Central Fund the Marlins would be bankrupt.
The Reds play in one of the smallest markets in pro sports and signed Joey Votto to a 10-year, $225MM extension.
And while it’s not an enormous contract, the Rays gave a 9 figure contract to Longoria (and the Twins gave a big one to Mauer).
Which was dumb.
Cuz the Royals-Giants World Series screamed big market monopoly……
A fastball to the face can certainly change one’s perspective on life.
because 325 mm wasn’t attractive before? haha.
Coming from Jeffrey Luria? Yeah… the man has a way of turning Platinum to Pewter.
1/3 of a billion dollars. Funny, with 325 million, Marlins could have signed Tomas, Moncada, Lester, and then extended Jose Fernandez. Throw Lester out of that equation, and you still have $150 ish million to do what you please.
This very clearly is not true. Moncada will take 60 MM including the fee. Tomas 100 MM. Lester 150 MM. That’s 310 MM. You’re not extending Fernandez – a Scott Boras client – for just 15 MM. Even if you only count Moncada’s fee once, at 30 MM, you’re still not convincing Fernandez to give up any control for just 45 MM. That might not even be enough to finance Fernandez’ arbitration years alone if he has a great 2015 season coming back from TJS.
Holy “way too long” batman…
Did somebody say Batman?
It’s 5 years.
The opt out is after year 6, according to Loria.
Good luck with that contract Miami.
I’m glad for Stanton. I just hope he opts out for a contending team if the Marlins are not that in/within five years. I really hope he doesn’t just stay for the money.
Jeffrey Loria, step right up.
You’re the next contestant on:
Worst Contract In Baseball!
Holy canoli! Thats-a spicy meatball-a!
Stanton is one of the best right fielders ever in mlb
Thats a premature assumption don’t ya think?
Look Stanton is awesome and he has one of the best raw power in mlb
yes but that hardly makes him one of the best RF’ers of all time.
I want to say this if the Marlins organization did not extend his contract then Stanton would have been traded and the teams that were interested would be the red Sox and the rangers but this was a nice extension by the Marlins hasn’t been finalized yet but it Will eventually
No question. His defense is pedestrian at best. Raw power. OK, but Raw Power does not = wins.
But, let’s face it. Numbers are only a small part of why he is worth $300M+. It is about marketability and building a brand that can bring in TV revenue which is worth way more than butts in seats.
He can wait in line behind Al Kaline, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Babe Ruth, Mel Ott, Roberto Clemente, Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, Willie Keeler, Harry Heilmann, Sam Crawford, Gary Sheffield, Vladimir Guerrero, and Dwight Evans, to name eighteen quickly. Stanton has a lot to prove before he is ahead of any single one of these, not to mention people like Andre Dawson and recent RFers like Giles, Magglio, etc. Stanton’s got a ways to go to be anything extraordinary. Right now he’s very good, but if he becomes an Andruw Jones-like pumpkin in a few years at age 30, he wouldn’t be a top-50 rightfielder.
1 or 2 centimeters over with that fastball and Stanton never sees this money. Tony C. #2.
At least they aren’t paying him into 40s and luckily for them there will probably be a DH spot in the NL added sometime during the contract
This guy is getting Mike Trout money but he isn’t Mike Trout.
But, he’s still Giancarlo Stanton.
He’s due for an MVP at some point.
I’m still calling him Mike Stanton.
i’m sure Trout’s agent has it handled.
True, Trout struck out a heck of a lot more.
Trout absolutely had a down year, if you can call it that. Stolen bases way down and Ks way up. He only had 14 more SO than Stanton in 2014. When looking at Ks/AB they were about even 3.2 vs 3.1 per AB.
Or, you could look at K% which is listed at fangraphs. Trout struck out in 26.1% of his PA, Stanton fanned in 26.6% of his PA. Both struck the ball with ridiculous force when they didn’t, though, and as a result were top players in the sport, both probably top-10 in MLB last year.
Joel Wolfe just made a lot of money.
At what point does Stanton get a minority ownership of the franchise?
The first bounced check??
LOL. That could be it!
Here comes the money. here comes the money. money money money money money money
Good for Stanton and the loyal Marlins fanbase (because face it any Marlins fans remaining at this point are all loyal).
Now, if Loria could just sell the team then the Marlins will stand a chance.
Excellent article!
how fast will he trade him? I bet 2016 he’ll be in a yankees or Dodgers uniform.
I’ll take that bet. Given the no-trade clause, the fact that they didn’t trade him when he had more value as a cost-effective player, the lack of talent in the Yankees system to acquire him, and the Dodgers surplus of outfielders, I think he stays a Marlin for a considerable time.
You were off by a couple of seasons, so you both win, I think.
and in 2 years when nobody attends games in a dead market he will be a dodger yank or angel
He will have not trade clause, He will contriol his destiny
“Giancarlo Stanton Paid $325 Million for Chance to Be Part of the Next Marlins Fire Sale”
Stanton is one of the better young players but this contract is insane. Marlins payroll has been in the 50-55 million range for 3 years, he will account for more then half of that. You have to sign 24 other players for 20 million, good luck with that. second and most importantly, he has not faced live pitching since being hit in the face with a faceball, that has ended many a career all in its own. See arods contract and how that worked for the Rangers who were basically a better version of the Marlins. There is no way this is going to work.
For three years? They had a payroll over 100 MM in 2012.
Also, it’s a 25 MM AAV. That’s 25-30 MM, assuming they don’t up payroll. The assumption is they’ll up it to at least 75 MM, which would give them their 2014 payroll of 45 MM in breathing room even when Stanton hits maximum salary. And, yknow, that 2014 rendition which was missing Fernandez for much of the year won 77 games, so not all hope is lost.
Wonder how Marlin’s ticket prices will jump to pay for this?
Won’t matter. No one goes to their games anyway.
Incredible contract for the player, dreadfully bad contract for the team as a whole.
Hes a very good player for sure, but paying him this much money for this long is going to almost completely hamstring the Marlins’ ability to add other pieces they will need to contend down the line.
This also seems as if it will make a Fernandez extension almost impossible, another thing to consider.
Loria never ceases to amaze me, in every way.
Fernandez is repped by Boras, highly doubtful they get Fernandez to sign an extension unless Jose is begging Boras to do it.
I absolutely hate opt out clauses. Either sign for 5 years or sign for 13.
It’s essentially a 6-year contract with a 7-year player option. Miami better hope he’s a superstar still in 2020 and opts out. If he doesn’t, they’re going to be sunk for the remainder of the contract.
Well there goes any chance of the Marlins signing Fernandez long term.
wow
Is anyone else wondering what Loria knows that we don’t? I just can’t see him making this kind of deal unless he has some escape plan. I mean, other than 2010-2012, Stanton’s contract is going to have an AAV that is comparable to the entire payroll from 2006-2014
To me, going from no big contracts and no no-trade clauses to the biggest contract in history with a full no trade clause seems like too much of a 180. There has to be something we aren’t seeing
Maybe it’s just they’re finally wanting to contend. Part of the deal for the new stadium was putting money back into the roster, and they did it immediately but it seemed they wanted to do things differently and build from within. They have players worth spending money on now. They have the players worth putting money into. They’ve got a solid young roster, a solid young rotation, just traded to add Cosart after the AS break, another solid young pitcher. Things are just pointing to Miami actually wanting to contend going into the future and willing to retain talent to do so. Stanton was just the main piece to begin going down that road.
I hope he isn’t going to be another Tony Conigliaro with that contract. That’s some serious trauma to get beaned in the face like that. I hope he can get back to where he has been heading/ the only incentive he has now is pride in his game.
Here is why the timing of this deal is not smart for the Marlins. Stanton was drilled in the face and suffered broken bones. It would have been much smarter for the Marlins to wait until Stanton returns and prove there is no lingering physical or mental effects. While the physical damage can heal, the mental issues can change a hitter forever, making them more tentative and essentially ruining their career. Some examples: Tony Conigliaro, Steve Kemp, Dickie Thon, Adam Greenberg. Waiting until next June would have been a smarter move. What happens now if Stanton returns and is never the same player? The contract itself is a different issue to critique, it’s the timing of it that makes no sense.
This played into the Marlins favor. They’re gambling either way. Stanton after that is gonna be more inclined to sign long term now rather than later cause of the risk of injury. And if the Marlins didn’t make the deal at this point, and he has another great year, it might have been tougher to get him to sign long term before testing FA. It’s a gamble for Stanton either way, and Miami is gambling that Stanton isn’t gonna be affected and he’s gonna be just fine.
Or they already know that he’s fine.
Nobody knows if he won’t have psychological side effects from the hbp until he starts facing live pitching again. It’s a slim chance he will have issues, but it’s still a real chance. Can anyone say that Stanton would have gotten more than $325 mil if the Marlins waited until May or June to sign him?
Maybe, yknow, they had him face pitching from one of their pitchers to see if he looks awkward swinging? Somehow I think the Marlins did some homework on this matter. They know Stanton better than you do.
At least we don’t have too read any more Stanton trade proposals in the chats now.
i think they should trade him to the dodgers
What are we going to do now?
I still expect to get them, haha.
What is the Yankees fans plan B?
He was never their plan A.
He may not have been Cashman’s plan A but nearly every Yankee FAN assumed Stanton would become a free agent and sign with the Bombers.
Not me or most real Yankee fans I know.
Stick with an aging, injury-prone roster, go through a natural cycle of a small rebuild like every other franchise does, and build from within like the last time they had a prolonged true dynasty?
These comments are hilarious in retrospect.
Monster contract. I think it’s a great move for the Marlins as a franchise. Now they can focus on building around him.
What would I have gotten paid in today’s dollars? — Barry Bonds
425/12 yrs
Yknow, we can look into this using baseball-reference, just adjusting all of his salaries to 2014 money. Baseball salaries inflate faster than country-wide inflation, but using actual inflation, Bonds’ 188 MM salary becomes 252 MM salary in 2014 dollars. I have to imagine the 1992 free agent rendition of Bonds through the end of his career could have commanded yearly salaries in excess of 30 MM per year.
Not sure the Red Sox, Dodgers, or Yankees can fit that salary in their 2016-2017 payroll.
So basically a 5 year deal with all the upside going to Stanton? Its not bad if the Marlins plan on getting his prime years and then waging a PR campaign to justify not re-signing him to a 10 year deal when Stanton hits 30.
No player should receive 8+ year deals past age 38. Definitely a win for Stanton but not bad for the Marlins too.
Its official. The Marlins will never again contend, but they will have Stanton through 2019. Hope he likes losing.
Disagree, I think the Marlins’ future is brighter than ever now
I really hope the Marlins win a World Series in the next five years and you’re still frequenting MLBtr when that happens. You’re so unbelievably negative towards Miami at all times. Could you still show me a single source that cites Miami won’t have a revenue much higher than 150 MM in the future? I’m also still curious about your response to the assertion no MLB team has ever made the playoffs with 20% committed to one player when the 2003 Florida Marlins won the World Series with ~22% committed to Ivan Rodriguez.
So when he’s 38 he can ‘go play for a winner’.
Miami isn’t far off. They got a solid team, just need to plug some holes. Try to name an outfield better then the Marlins right now. Maybe Washington? Other than that, there isn’t one.
The Angels? Hamilton may have regressed, but Calhoun is pretty good and Mike Trout’s Mike Trout.
Trout> Stanton but.. Ozuna>Calhoun and Yelich>Hamiliton. I’d rather have the Marlins outfield going forward.
I like this
MLB contracts have jumped the shark.
Who says in classic Marlins fashion he’s traded after 2 years
He’s going to have to put up some monster numbers for anybody to be willing to take on an 11 year contract with nearly $300 million on it.
If he replicates 2014 twice someone will definitely do it, if Miami were selling. The prospect return would be questionable, though.
Maybe it is Loria who is selling and he needed to lock Stanton in to get the sale done?
idk I thought it was a good sign. I appear to be in the minority however. The Marlins found a player they wanted to make their franchise player and they extended a young player to a long term deal to be the franchise player going forward.
I think there’s a difference between that and investing 13 years and $325 million to one player.
I think it’s getting out of hand when the contract looks like a good batting average…
It also looks like a pretty good career HR total. It’s not far off from Joe DiMaggio and Ralph Kiner’s career HR totals.
So who has the better young/long term OF? Pirates or Marlins can sure make good cases for it
All respect to the Pirates and Marlins, but I’d take Pederson, Puig and Kemp as the best long-term OF, in terms of next 5 years.
Puig and Kemp are good. Pederson is unproven.
Fair enough, but Pederson actually has performed very well in the minors. He actually outperformed Yellich when they were both in AA in the Southern League and he was a beast last year in AAA.
but didn’t do much in his MLB opportunities…speaking of Pederson.
I think you’re crazy to take it over Pittsburgh. McCutchen > Puig. Marte is probably better than Kemp now, and both Pederson and Polanco are unproven, but Polanco is at least in MLB with more service time and did experience success early on.
Defensively, Pittsburgh. Potentially offensively also. Maturity will be Puig’s friend, and if Kemp is healthy – he is awesome. But for now, I’ll take the Pirates outfield.
There are numerous records in baseball that will never be broken; Joe D’s streak, Pete Rose’s hit total, Cy Young’s wins, etc.
I kinda hope this mega-deal is one of them.
that’s funny. it’s just not gonna happen. that deal will be broken.
No way that dream becomes a reality. Someone’s gonna break it.
Barring a catastrophic injury to Mike Trout, this record might not last more than six years.
If Bryce Harper actually becomes the Bryce Harper he’s capable of, he’ll hit free agency after his age-25 season and could break this record. Especially considering that his age-25 season won’t be until 2018, and salaries will have escalated tremendously by then.
I don’t know…could very well happen… But I see a whole lot of Andy Van Slyke in Bryce Harper
Teams will regret these very long term contracts. I give you Albert Pujols as an example. Since he signed with the Angles he average 25 HRs and 91 RBIs. Batted about .275. They still own him $189 M over the next 7 years. That averages out to $27 M a year. Are those stats worthy of that kind of money? Look at Ryan Howard and his production and what he is owed. I say the Marlins will regret this.
angels received $1 billion extra in tv contract precisely for signing pujols. no regrets whatsoever!
Exactly!
I don’t see them keeping him the whole 13 years.
Let’ say he ha 8 or 9 good years. He has already had injuries. Who would want his contract for the last 4 or 5 years?
Florida does not have a good history keeping players that long.i could see him as an Yankee in two or three years
Difference is that Pujols was 32 when he signed that contract and Howard was 30 years old. The signs were already there for Pujols when every year his production went down. That contract is Angel’s owner’s fault. Stanton has everything right going for him from statistics to age–25, and bar a huge injury, he will be able to live up to at least 7 to 10 years.
Albert Pujols’ contract covered ages 32-41. Ryan Howard was always tremendously overrated, and never worth 25 MM in a single year except his MVP 2006, IMO.
Stanton has never hit more than 37 HRs in a season nor driven in more than this seasons 105 RBIs. Howard in comparison had a four year span where he didn’t hit less than 45 HRs and drove in over 136 RBI’s, with one season of 58 homers and 149 RBI’s. You can look at those numbers and say he didn’t deserve a big contract. If Howard doesn’t deserve it, surely Stanton doesn’t either. The only thing I will say, the GM should have waited to give Howard his new contract, but that is hindsight.
I know exactly what you’re saying..but I’ll state again that players also need to be seen as entertainers… A portion of their salary is generated by their ability to generate revenue
Lets hope Giancarlo takes out Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson out to a nice dinner, because without them, none of this happens.
It is really Blue jays’ fault
Josh Johnson’s contract would already be up by now. He might as well thank Hanley Ramirez, Ricky Nolasco, and Heath Bell as well if he’s thanking Josh Johnson.
What’s scary is that Stanton is JUST entering his prime. As long as no freak accident or injuries come, Stanton will be able to live up to this contract for at least the next 9/10 years. 3/4 years after is gonna hurt, but Marlins better hope they at least get a world series ring.
That’s the thing Stanton will be what, 37 when this thing ends. There is a chance he is still productive when the contract nears its end so it might not hurt at all.
Oh please, Loria did it so that he can tell all the fans how much he tried to make it work. And then he trades Stanton. Joker
Full no-trade clause..
The only winner in this is Stanton. Now the owner oft he Marlins is going to claim he is broke for the next 13 years. Stanton is young and one of the very best right now. But how many of these long term contracts have we seen be successful for either the team or the fans?
He can opt out in 5 years, if Luria doesn’t show he’s building a contender I’m 100% certain Stanton is exercising the opt out.
nuts
Is it a bad sign that most people are congratulating Stanton at the same time they are criticizing Loria and hoping he sells the team?
Stanton got 13 guaranteed years.
Stanton got over 300 mil.
If Stanton rakes, he opts out.
If Stanton struggles or is injured, he stays in his deal.
Stanton can’t be traded anywhere without permission.
There is no upside for Miami in this deal.
Not true, because they weren’t going to keep him otherwise, and he’ll most likely be worth more than what he makes over the next 5 years and then opt out.
And even if he doesn’t, he’s still likely to be worth a hell of a lot in those last 8 years. He hasn’t even hit his prime yet.
Plus salaries keep increasing at such a rate that $25 million a year for an elite player may start looking like a bargain within a few years.
I think there’s quite a few teams that would be willing to take on this entire contract in a trade, and that alone would be proof that it’s not a vastly overpriced contract.
And it certainly isn’t comparable to the worst contracts in baseball, which have extreme negative trade value. Although of course with any contract of this size it has the potential to become one of those in the future. That is the risk. But with how good he is, and how young he is, I think this one has much less risk than most massive contracts, even with the extreme length.
Miami keeps Stanton beyond 2016. There’s your upside for Miami.
Insane contract. A lot of people are saying there’s no upside for the Marlins in this deal; while I do agree in some ways I’d also like to point out a couple things. They are seemingly showing their disheartened fan-base that they are serious about keeping their marquee players around. If he opts out, they still get the guy for 6-years which is enough time to make a title run and don’t have to deal with his contract anymore. It doesn’t mean that the deal was a bust if he opts out, it means he was great for 6 years and provided a ton of value. The real negative is that if he is somehow awful, he can stick around and pocket all 325 million dollars.
There are of course risks with any big contract, but Miami needed this!
Yes, but will they be able to financially field a team around him? I personally don’t believe this deal was smart, because winning, more than anything, matters…and that money on one player could have been wisely spread out. I just don’t think having one marquee player makes the Marlins more marketable.
Am I the only one that thinks that it’s a bit crazy the Marlins gave Stanton this contract when he hasn’t played a game since his serious season ending injury? You never know if a guy will rebound from an injury like that yet you offer him 325 million? I hope for Stanton’s sake I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill.
No, I agree with you. Frankly even healthy is anyone worth that kind of money?
You gotta figure they’ve watched him take swings against pitching. It was said he was expected to make a full recovery and others who were hit in the head have still had success since, like Wright and Heyward. I know it was a serious injury, but the psychology is the concern, not him physically recovering. Thon and Conigliaro never really fully physically recovered because their eyesight was shot, afaik.
As I said…and I stand by my opinion. 13 years is too long, and the money is ridiculous…the MLBPA should of finally put their foot down and declined this from even happening. Players are too greedy anymore and the Marlins already just had a fire sale…..they could of dealt him for like another team’s entire prospect list….lol but oh well, I’m sure this new record will be beat someday… (MLB NEEDS A SALARY CAP – how else are these pay outs going to end?)
Why would the players union ask a player not to break a contract record? If anything, it just shows how much money is flowing in baseball right now. If it’s ludicrous…baseball Darwinism will win out
No one should ever believe that Stanton will be with the Marlins for all 13 years. Give it 4 seasons and Loria will have him and others shipped off. The man had a firesale after BOTH World Series crowns.
Who would take him, even with the possibility of an opt-out?
I don’t believe Loria owned the team in 1997.
You did this for the fans.What fans you’re talking about?
Sounds like Soria trying to do Obi-Wan’s mind trick. “Forget about the past, forget about my previous dismantling of teams”
For those who don’t understand why these contracts are so big, Rush Limbaugh has a 9 year contract (2008-2016) worth $400 million.
If Limbaugh or Maddow dont show up, there is no show. (At least not one where their fans would tune in).
Any MLB team will keep having fans come in for a game. The only reason why Miami may fold is because they have Loria as an owner not because their ‘marquee player’ was gone.
I don’t like these big contracts. Its very unlikely but Stanton could hit >.200 and STILL get paid $325 million. What incentive does he have to play well? A WS ring? Baloney. I think I’d buy a small island in the Caribbean.
So in a perfect world…the Marlins get him for 6 years and $107MM. He then opts-out and someone else gives him an 8-10 year deal for his decline.