Extension Candidate: Mike Stanton
With offense on the decline around the league, power is at a premium these days. Few players have more of it than Mike Stanton, the Marlins' 22-year-old wunderkind. Since making his Major League debut on June 8th of 2010, his 56 homers are the sixth most in baseball behind Jose Bautista (79), Albert Pujols (65), Mark Teixeira (64), Curtis Granderson (62), and Prince Fielder (61). That's elite company, especially for someone so young.
The Marlins went on a spending spree this offseason, importing Ozzie Guillen, Jose Reyes, Carlos Zambrano, Heath Bell, and Mark Buehrle, but perhaps their wisest signing could be locking Stanton into a long-term deal. There's certainly no rush since he won't be arbitration-eligible until after 2013 or a free agent until after 2016, but power pays in arbitration and Stanton could get expensive in a hurry. Look no further than Fielder, who turned his impressive power output into $33.5MM during his three arbitration years. It would have been more if he hadn't given up his first two arbitration years as part of a two-year, $18MM contract.
A number of young outfielders have signed long-term contracts in recent years and can serve as reference points for a Stanton extension. Justin Upton signed away his three arbitration years for $20.75MM, Carlos Gonzalez for $23.5MM, and Jay Bruce for $22.5MM. Upton, CarGo, and Bruce also gave up their first two years of free agency for an average of $13.3MM per season. Those same five years of Stanton's career figure to cost the Fish upwards of $50MM.
For what it's worth, the Marlins signed Hanley Ramirez to a six-year contract prior to the 2009 season, which would have been his first as an arbitration-eligible player. They secured his three arbitration years for $23.5MM and then three additional free agent years for an average of $15.5MM annually. Ramirez did have a Rookie of the Year award and two top-11 finishes in the NL MVP voting at that point, so Stanton would figure to come slightly cheaper, assuming they act now.
A new era of Marlins' baseball begins next season with a new name, a new stadium, and several new high-profile players. Getting Stanton — one of their core homegrown players and a .261/.344/.525 career hitter — under contract long-term would be an excellent finish to a productive and franchise-altering offseason.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
NL East Links: Marlins, Vazquez, Braves, Nationals
Twelve years ago today, the Mets traded Octavio Dotel, Roger Cedeno, and Kyle Kessel to the Astros for Mike Hampton and Derek Bell. Hampton pitched to a 3.14 ERA in 217 2/3 innings during his one season in New York, then signed his monster eight-year, $121MM contract with the Rockies that winter. Here's the latest from continually improving the NL East…
- The Marlins were willing to part with top minor leaguers to acquire Gio Gonzalez, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they weren't willing to move anyone from their everyday lineup. Both Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton are considered "off limits."
- Within the same piece, Frisaro says that Javier Vazquez continues to maintain that he is retiring. The Marlins do not expect him back and are looking elsewhere for pitching.
- In a comment on one of his blog posts, Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains why the Braves have less money to spend this winter than many believe.
- Baseball people keep waiting for Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to "bail out" Scott Boras on one of his free agents according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Unsigned Boras clients include Prince Fielder, Edwin Jackson, Johnny Damon, Carlos Pena, and Ryan Madson.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider takes a look at the far-reaching implications of yesterday's Gonzalez trade for the Nationals.
- Amanda Comack of The Washington Times tries to sort out the Nationals pitching staff following the Gio trade.
The Latest On Gio Gonzalez
The Tigers, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Rangers are among the teams pursuing Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The bidding figures to heat up a bit once the posting period for Yu Darvish ends at 4pm CT tomorrow. Here's the latest on Gonzalez, courtesy of Knobler…
- The Athletics did indeed ask the Marlins for Mike Stanton in a trade, though the talks understandably went nowhere.
- A's GM Billy Beane in enamored with Tigers' top pitching prospect Jacob Turner, and Detroit is willing to move him for Gonzalez. They balked at Beane's request for prospects Nick Castellanos and Drew Smyly in addition to Turner, though.
- If the Tigers don't swing a trade for Gonzalez, Knobler says that they'll likely find a Brad Penny-type to be their fifth starter (Twitter links). They also want to find an upgrade at second or third base.
- The Red Sox have shown just as much interest in Gio as they have closer Andrew Bailey.
- The Phillies also inquired about Gonzalez, but the Athletics didn't like what they had to offer.
Marlins Notes: Hanley, Morrison, Pujols, Fielder
The Marlins held an introductory press conference for Mark Buehrle today, and here are a few hot stove details from those proceedings and beyond…
- The Marlins have "poked around in the market" to see what interest there would be in Hanley Ramirez, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The team claimed Ramirez wouldn't be dealt in the wake of Jose Reyes' signing but even coming off a down year, Ramirez would be a big trade chip.
- Logan Morrison is "drawing more trade interest" than any other Miami player, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Still, it is "highly, highly unlikely" Morrison is sent elsewhere.
- Team president David Samson denied reports that the Marlins offered Albert Pujols a near-record contract, saying the club's offer was worth a bit more than $200MM, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that Miami offered Pujols a ten-year, $275MM deal that could have ultimately been worth $300MM with incentives and because Florida has no state income tax.
- When asked if the club would pursue Prince Fielder, owner Jeffrey Loria replied "Oh, I don't know about that. We'll see," reports Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. In another tweet, Capozzi hears from a source that the Marlins never had interest in Fielder.
- Juan C. Rodriguez reports the Marlins also aren't interested in free agent starter Edwin Jackson (Twitter link).
- The Marlins are planning to have internal discussions about an extension for Mike Stanton, Capozzi reports (via Twitter). There is no time frame, however, as the club is waiting until "after [the] dust settles" on their busy offseason. Stanton is already under team control through 2016 and doesn't reach arbitration for two more years.
- MLB.com's Anthony DiComo details the incentive clauses and the year-by-year breakdown of Jose Reyes' six-year deal. Reyes will earn $10MM in each of the next two seasons, $16MM in 2014, and then $22MM in each of the final three guaranteed seasons. The Marlins have a $22MM team option on Reyes for 2018 that can be bought out for $4MM.
Latest On Gio Gonzalez
WEDNESDAY, 10:55am: Gio Gonzalez trade talks haven't really started, reports ESPN's Buster Olney, who notes that the A's did not ask for Logan Morrison in brief check-in talks with the Marlins.
TUESDAY, 8:54am: The Marlins have pursued trades and free agents aggressively so far this offseason. Most recently, Gio Gonzalez has emerged as a possible trade target for the team. Here are the details on the Marlins’ offseason, via Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald:
- The A’s have demanded a package containing Logan Morrison or Mike Stanton for Gonzalez and the Marlins “flatly rejected” the possibility.
- C.J. Wilson will visit the Marlins after Thanksgiving. The free agent left-hander met with the Angels last night and has more visits scheduled.
Quick Hits: Jones, Stanton, Francisco
The Cardinals acquired Larry Walker from the Rockies seven years ago today. The waiver trade sent minor leaguer Jason Burch and two players to be named later to Colorado, one of whom turned out to be Chris Narveson.
Will we see any big name players dealt in waiver trades this month? I'm thinking yes. Until then, here are the links for Saturday…
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that both the Braves and Phillies asked the Orioles about Adam Jones before the trade deadline, but were told he wasn't available. The two NL East clubs satisfied their outfield needs with Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, respectively.
- The Marlins have not yet approached Mike Stanton about a long-term contract extension, reports MLB.com's Peter Gammons (on Twitter). Yesterday we learned that the team was having "preliminary internal talks" about a deal for the slugging outfielder.
- Roy Oswalt will be activated off the disabled list and start for the Phillies tomorrow, and Matt Gelb of The Philadephia inquirer thinks Ben Francisco could be in danger of losing his roster spot. John Mayberry Jr.'s emergence has made Francisco a bit more expendable, though he does have one minor league option remaining.
Marlins Interested In Long-Term Deal With Stanton
Marlins' slugger Mike Stanton won't be a free agent until after the 2016 season, but that hasn't stopped the team from thinking about signing him long-term. Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post reports that clubs is having "preliminary internal talks" about a long-term deal for the 21-year-old, though they haven't come up with specifics and probably won't make an offer until next year.
Stanton leads the Marlins with 25 home runs this season, and since his debut last June, he's hit .259/.328/.518 with 47 homers. Only Jose Bautista (69), Mark Teixeira (56), Albert Pujols (53), and Curtis Granderson (49) have gone deep more times since Stanton reached the big leagues. He's hitting .259/.330/.528 this year, and UZR approves of his defense in right (+10.3 UZR).
The Marlins won't have to worry about Stanton getting expensive anytime soon; he'll earn $417K this year and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2013 season. As our Agency Database shows, Stanton is represented by the Wasserman Media Group, which has negotiated long-term deals for Chase Utley and Wandy Rodriguez in recent years.
Guillen Discusses Future In Chicago
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he knows his bosses will consider firing him if the team doesn’t perform. And though he says he wants to stay in the White Sox organization for the rest of his life, Guillen says GM Kenny Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf don’t owe him anything.
“If Kenny or Jerry doesn’t think I’m doing my job . . . they’re going to fire me because my players don’t produce,” Guillen told Rosenthal. “I respect that. I don’t mind getting fired. If I get fired, it’s for a reason. What reason? Me.”
Though several rival executives believe the White Sox would be better off without Guillen, at least one team covets the former shortstop as a future skipper. The 15-8 Marlins expressed interest in obtaining the rights to Guillen in the offseason are not currently discussing an extension for manager Edwin Rodriguez, who is on a one-year contract, according to Rosenthal.
Rosenthal notes that the White Sox asked for Logan Morrison in exchange for the right to hire Guillen last offseason, not Mike Stanton. Last fall, many reports indicated that Stanton was at the center of the discussions between the White Sox and Marlins.
Red Sox Notes: Stanton, Okajima, Lineup
With apologies to the Dropkick Murphys, let's ship up to Boston for some news from the (presumptive) AL East favorites…
- Mike Stanton hit two homers and drove in seven runs against the Red Sox today in Grapefruit League play, prompting WEEI.com's Alex Speier to recall how the Sox pursued Stanton two seasons ago. When the Red Sox were trying to deal Manny Ramirez in 2008, they attempted to arrange a multi-team trade that would have seen both Stanton and Jason Bay end up in Boston. The Marlins, however, weren't interested in dealing their young slugger.
- Hideki Okajima isn't used to having to fight for a bullpen job, but the Japanese left-hander is determined to stay on the roster, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
- Boston's regular lineup is heavy with left-handed hitters, but Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com thinks the offense will be potent enough to overcome the lefty-righty disparity.
- Speaking of Edes, he took part in a fan chat on ESPN Boston today discussing such topics as Lars Anderson's trade value, whether the Red Sox may try to acquire a catcher, and the futures of both David Ortiz and Terry Francona in Boston.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Bumgarner, Crawford, Stanton
Links for Friday, as teams continue trimming their rosters down…
- Chuck Greenberg will no longer be part of the Rangers organization, but he leaves with $20-25MM in profit, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter)
- The Giants renewed Madison Bumgarner's contract for 2011, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). That means the sides did not agree to terms on a deal, but it doesn't change the timetable for Bumgarner's arbitration or free agency.
- As Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains, the only two outfielders ever to sign free agent contracts with an average annual value of $20MM have opposite styles of play. The Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez for his power, and they signed Carl Crawford for his overall offensive output, baserunning and defense.
- Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton has a creative approach to addressing weaknesses in his swing, as Yahoo's Steve Henson explains.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post offers up a must-read profile of Nationals phenom Bryce Harper.