The Marlins have presented a multi-year extension offer to star center fielder Starling Marte, report Jordan McPherson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Terms of the offer are unknown, although McPherson and Mish hear Marte and his representatives at Rep 1 Baseball are seeking a “three- or four-year deal in the $50 million range.”
Marte, who is playing out the season on a $12.5MM contract, is slated to hit free agency at the end of the year. Last month, he expressed a desire to work out a long-term deal to stay with Miami rather than test the market. Theoretically, the two sides have until the conclusion of the season to work out an extension, although McPherson and Mish suggest the July 30 trade deadline could function as a de facto extension deadline as well. If the Marlins and Marte don’t work out a long-term deal in the next few weeks, the 35-47 Marlins are expected to trade him, according to the Herald duo.
The Fish could also hold onto Marte through the end of the year and make him a qualifying offer going into the offseason. He’d almost certainly reject the QO, entitling Miami to 2022 draft pick compensation were he to sign elsewhere. However, Marte is playing well enough this season that a contender would likely offer the Marlins a prospect package more valuable than the compensatory pick they’d receive if he turned down a QO.
While a rib fracture cost Marte a month of action earlier in the year, he’s arguably playing at a career-best level when healthy. The right-handed hitter has slashed .294/.401/.453 across 202 plate appearances. His resulting 143 wRC+ (which suggests he’s been 43 percentage points better than the average hitter after park-adjustments) is the best mark of his ten-year career. That’s driven primarily by a demonstrably more patient approach, as Marte is walking at a 13.4% clip that’s nearly triple the 4.9% career walk percentage he carried into the season.
Considering Marte’s performance this year, his reported preference for a deal in the $50MM range seems more than reasonable. He’s set to turn 33 years old in October, which will cap the deal’s length. Still, he’s tracking as the unquestionable top center fielder on the market and has been among the top performers regardless of position.
Among position players scheduled to hit free agency, only Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Nick Castellanos (who’s almost certain to opt out of the final two years of his deal) have an fWAR greater than Marte’s 2.8. Castellanos, Correa, Nelson Cruz and J.D. Martinez (who has a player option) are the only members of that group (minimum 100 plate appearances) to have outhit Marte this season.
Good for Marte and good for the Marlins. Just because a team has no chance for a WS doesnt mean they shouldnt sign a good player who wants to be there and can help the team
I’m sure Stanton, Reyes, Yelich, etc all thought the same thing.
I’m just suspicious as to what the offer was.
That was during Loria’s tenure though. Much different front office this time.
Barry Bonds should coach again
If the rumor is correct and he is truly only looking for 4/$50m I think the Marlins would be foolish to not sign him to that contract. Solid defensive player that hits for average and draws walks. Doesn’t hit the long ball often but as a top of the card hitter he doesn’t really need to. He will probably get closer to $15m aav if they let him get to FA. Only his age would prevent him from accepting a QO and he still might if he likes Miami that much.
…until two years from now when they decide the extension is too much money and trade him away. There’s a reason the Marlins are in like year 17 of their rebuild.
They have different people this time though, they will be playoff contenders if they stay healthy.
I truly truly miss this guy. It’s just a dam shame the owner is who he is and they are in the market they’re in.
I know the Pirates don’t give any player approaching/above the age of 30 money, and i know why.
However, it sure would have been nice to make an exception for Marte. Instead of trading him, make him an offer to stick around through out his 30’s. A reasonable offer. Smh
Like I said,i know why financially it literally makes zero sense. Lol It just sucks though.
They are a team in a small market, but with an owner who had a different outlook, making exceptions could absolutely be made.
Geez it sucks being a Pirate fan.
It sucks being a fan of a poorly run team. Sure Nutting causes management to play with one hand tied behind its back by not spending on legitimate FA’s, but spending big dollars on aging vets isn’t the right answer. Accumulating high ceiling YOUNG talent, like the Pirates are currently doing, is the best way to compete for a small market team.
Dude the Pirates don’t spend big dollars on aging veterans…..so……
Allow me to introduce to you Gregory Polanco.
What the Pirates should never do is put themselves in a bind like the Orioles did with Chris Davis, or Reds did with Joey Votto, or Tigers did with Miguel Cabrera. Should I go on.
Mr. Matte is a good, decent human being that is very kind and generous. The Marlins would be extremely lucky to sign him. His work in the Marlin’s community is unparalleled.
That’s nice. However, this article was about Marte. Best of wishes to Matte
why are they doing this?
You mean by actually doing the right thing? It’s about damn time.
The “right” thing? What does that even mean? Is an aging Marte worth the investment? That’s the question.
The “right thing” is investing in the team after years of giving fans that perception then quickly yanking it back and selling off players.
Any investment is a step in the right direction. Even if it doesn’t pan out, it is at least a shot across the bow telling fans that ownership is different.
@Wark gets it.
I get ya now, Wark. I disagree that this is necessarily a smart investment (maybe sign someone younger, not about to decline?) but I get the sentiment. If you wanna start building you can do better than a over 30 Marte.
@cosmo2. Its a legit concern about the Marte’s eventual decline. Hes going to be 33 in october. But over the next 2 years, he’s still potentially the best overall OF’er for the Fish.
Next year they’ll have Sanchez and Duvall but aside from them two the Marlins do not have a suitable replacement for Marte, in the minors. Brinson, Harrison, and Sierra are busts offensively but are great defensively. I do not see them turning the corner offensively..
Another alternative is using the money to Marte for a younger OF’er like Conforto but he will cost way more. But if he’s brought on board we still have a huge hole in CF. The only solution would be Duvall at CF ( but this set up should only be used for short stretches) to pair with Sanchez.
Bleday, Misner, Burdock, Conine, Scott, and Encarnacion all have great offenisve potential but are not ready for the bigs yet. By middle of next year we’ll have a clearer picture. But fish can’ t wait on that.
Ideally a 2 year deal would be best. Or trading him for prospects and then resigning him after this season but thats also a risk. Anything can happen.
Unless a better option is found via trade, resigning Marte even at 3 years is a priority. IMO. Next year, Marlins have less than 16 mill in total payroll.
Last in the majors.
Theres no reason they should not be investing in their players (signing Rogers, Alcantara longterm for example), or in FA’cy to help the team really compete for the postseason next year and beyond. The time is now.
@mjm couldn’t agree more.
@cosmo. I refrained from saying “smart investment” because a smart investment for a team like the Marlins is not the same for a team like the Dodgers. A Marlins investment in players goes beyond W/L and shows up more on the balance sheet when it comes to gate numbers, merch, and advert dollars for a small franchise (plus the potential goodwill in the local market). Having some roster consistency helps that. Plus I’m sure there are a bunch of teams that wouldn’t mind Marte on their team for 3 years at a salary in the mid-teens.
Edit. I’m not saying they will win with a Marte signing or even at all during the contract, but I highly doubt the ownership group is concerned with contending in 2-3 years as opposed to creating a sustainable business model for the team.
Wark: Ok, yea I see what you’re saying. Agreed.
What’s the most the marlins have ever ended up paying a player? Not a sign then trade after a year or two but actual cash paid.
Stanton (13/325M)…poor Marlins.
Paid, not signed. Stanton is only going to get like 50/60m from Miami once the 30m the marlins kicked in from the trade is paid.
My point being that if Marte gets 50m that could make him the highest ever earner from Miami.
Even with the 50M he still will be a little short of Stanton, remember he played for years before he signed the extension and i think he made around 75M including the portion the marlins pay to the yankees. Thats also assuming Stanton is the most. Based on your criteria that the Marlins actually paid out i believe they released a pitcher last year or the year before they got for 80M or so. They would still be on the hook for the rest minus league minimum which would still probably be over 75M
Marte assuming he accepts the 4/50M from the Marlins (which would be a huge discount based on the upcoming market for outfielders especially cf). he would be just under 70M once you take out the money paid by previous team.
His contract was also in 2013 before record hyperinflation happened overnight in 2020
Stanton with a NTC. North of $275M
Probably Wei Yin Chen. He was released his final year but still got all of his 5/85.
They have to sign him or get nothing for him. He’s basically telling everybody that he will sign with Miami going forward, so this kills any return the fish might get.
I kills nothing. It’s extremely rare that a team factors in whether they are going to re-sign a rental. Trading for the player literally means nothing as far as your signing him in the off season. Any team that trades for him is trading for his remaining contract; beyond that doesn’t factor in.
I agree to a point @Cosmo2
Some teams are hopeful they will convince some of those to resign. Similar to what the mets did with lindor where they were convinced they would sign him back and may have given a little more to get the deal done, but if they knew there was no chance at all they may have pulled back a tad. Not deal breaker but maybe instead of josh wolf or greene the indians get someone of a slightly less value …ie instead of a 15th ranked prospect a 17th or 18th. Again not huge difference but still a slight difference.
Just my opinion atleast on it.
Do people actually follow baseball that post here? This is such a ridiculous take. There are plenty of teams that would trade for him to play CF/OF for them this year.
Even if teams cared about that sort of thing (they don’t), there is a long, rich history of athletes saying they would like to sign somewhere, or saying they want to retire as a [insert team name here] and then signing somewhere else entirely.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dealt in the upcoming trade deadline. He could bring back a quality prospect and if it’s handled properly by Miami, he could still re-sign with them in the offseason as well. I’d be surprised in the Mets don’t go all-in on him at this deadline. The Mets still need that everyday CF and Marte is the best available option for them.
Problem w that is miami would get a pick around 30 if they QO him and he declines. so the compensation package would have to be high to get a deal done.
Terrible decision to extend him if it happens. In his 30s and gonna commit some 15/20 mil per, for several years. Marlins need to operate like rays. Roster full of mid 20s players w a couple vets and unload em when they start to get expensive
The problem is that draft picks are the ultimate lottery ticket. More than 8 out of 10 draft picks fail to make an impact on the major league team so if I were Miami, I’d trade him for a proven commodity vs. getting a compensatory pick and hoping the pick is one of the 15-20% who do pan out 2-3 years down the road (or 4-6 years down the road for a high school draft pick). Miami would also be gambling that Marte would decline the $19M QO salary as well. With all of the young talent close to major league ready, Miami would be smarter to trade Marte for a AA player who has already been successful in the minors and is close to being called up. There’s still some risk of failure there but much less than a brand new draft pick who hasn’t played any professional baseball.
It just makes more sense to trade Marte by the deadline, net some prime prospects, then sign him back over the winter as a FA. Is extending him the right thing to do? Yes, but trading him and then bringing him back over the winter makes more sense.
Feels like an attempt to see how realistic him re signing is and if he wants too much they are trading him.
Why would the marlins want to sign anyone they are going nowhere anyway? Usually if they do sign someone they end up getting rid of them anyway so why bother?
Sounds like it would be a deal for the Marlins
If this is true and they only offered Marte $50 million, He should laugh in there face and demand a trade
Marte is the one asking for $50 mil
@Dontbestupid and read the article before commenting.
His former PEDs test probably hurts his stock and having a slightly higher avg.
OPS+ aside, his slugging % is very low…..
Marlins have no commitment to win. He needs to go FA.
3 years, 40 million seems fair.
Why would he stay in Miami? Do MLB players chase rings like in other sports?
He loves living in Miami and has already built great ties within the community. There are two types of older players; one who will go anywhere to chase a ring and one who would like to establish roots in the community and finish their career in that market regardless of the team’s success. I understand both sides of the coin here.
I remember Marte being hit with PEDs at the beginning of his major league career. He handled that well and went on to win another gold glove before being traded to Arizona. Great guy and character
I don’t get this. Do fans really think a thirty-something Marte is gonna repeat what he’s doing now over the next few years? Signing him isn’t a crazy idea but he’s not exactly a building block. He’s not a key to future success. Marlins seem to be a smart organization. They’ll be patient unlike other teams who mess up their rebuild by mistakenly thinking they can kickstart it through big spending in free agency. Marte could be part of that, 50 million isn’t that much in baseball, but expect decline from what is basically a career year for a player who is old in baseball terms.
They wouldn’t sign him to be a building block. They’d sign him to be a veteran presence on a young team who can help mentor the kids and teach them how to be true professionals. These types of players are invaluable to a young, talented team like Miami.
Exactly. There’s more to it than his age and sheer stats. He’s a “clubhouse chemistry” guy. If the Marlins are really placing low effort to extend Marte, it’s a smaller PR hit when they trade him at the deadline.
I guess. But do we really know he’s an important “clubhouse chemistry” guy? I mean, he seems like a great guy but is his personality worth 40-50 million. Do teams really need such guys or is it just something fans say?
Cots Contracts doesn’t indicate that JDM has another player option for 2022 – there’s apparently just a complicated mutual option that only goes into effect in the case of some very specific IL occurrence(s). Otherwise he’s locked-in for 2022 – if Cots has it right.
What?
It’s in regard to the final paragraph of the article.
Sorry I didn’t know what Cots was. Makes sense now, I looked it up.
No problem. It’s a cool resource, I go there a lot this time of year.