The Miami Marlins are planning to approach Giancarlo Stanton with a contract extension soon and have a goal on signing him by the Winter Meetings.
It has been known for a while now that Miami planned to offer a deal to Stanton but the timing was up in the air. This brings a lot more clarity to the situation and a timeline of sorts. Team president of baseball operations Michael Hill made this goal known while appearing on MLB Network Radio on Sunday.
The annual Winter Meetings will take place from December 7-11 and are often the hot spot for many moves in Major League Baseball. It was at those meetings in 2011 that the Marlins made headlines with multiple moves. It is often used as a starting point for negotiations with free agents as well as trade talks with other general managers.
Signing Stanton would be a key move for Miami not just in baseball terms but in public relations terms. It would send a message to the rest of the roster, the rest of MLB and to the fan base of the team. There is no denying that Stanton is the heart and soul of the Marlins. He was the one guy who can turn a season around just by being in the lineup on a daily basis.
It will take a significant commitment to sign Stanton and the Marlins must know this. It would be futile to approach the MVP candidate with anything less than a franchise record setting deal. The contract could end up rivaling Mike Trout's deal in annual average value. Trout is signed through 2020 with an AAV of $24.1 million.
One thing Stanton could demand is a no-trade clause which is something that Miami has been steadfast in not handing out. They may be convinced to change policy though if it becomes the necessary last piece of this deal. It is likely that Stanton would want this as part of a contract after seeing similar longer term contracts traded by the Marlins in the past.
Outside of money and no-trade clauses, Stanton is also likely to seek some sign of dedication to winning by the Marlins. He may want to see them go out and sign some help for a team that showed a lot of promise in 2014. Stanton could also want to see the Marlins extend other young talent such as Christian Yelich.
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A lot of moving parts will go into a contract extension and however this ends up going could have a ripple effect on the franchise for years to come.
