Giancarlo Stanton’s Home Run by Corn Farmer is licensed under CC by 2.0
Giancarlo Stanton and the Marlins have agreed to a 13-year, $325 million contract extension. The deal is now the largest contract in professional sports. The deal should be made official by the end of the week. CBS Sports Jon Heyman reports that the press conference will be held later this week and Heyman said “there is a clear understanding the deal will be finalized.”
The extension has a full no-trade clause and Stanton will have the opportunity to opt out not long after the turns 30. Stanton just turned 25 and is entering his prime. This is a huge deal for the Marlins, who was ranked 29th in the majors in payroll last season. What they will be paying Stanton a year is well over half of their total payroll last season, which was around $47 million.
Under the new contract, Giancarlo Stanton could be a Marlin until 2027. Stanton is arguably one of the best players in baseball, but you have to wonder if the Marlins did the right thing spending as much as they did. It didn’t work out for them in 2012, when they spent $101 million and finished in last place in the NL East.
When the Marlins won the World Series in 2003, they were at the bottom of the league in terms of payroll. When they won it in 1997 they were fifth in the league, but that was a very different time, with the highest payroll being $73 million.
Can the Marlins afford any more players to go around Stanton? He can not bring them a World Series on his own or fix their attendance problems on his own. Stanton is a great player and I know the Marlins want to keep their prized player, but should they at this price?
Stanton finished second to only Clayton Kershaw in the NL MVP voting, finishing with a .288/.395/.555 batting line and 37 home runs, to with 105 RBIs.
The Marlins will still have to pay Jose Fernandez in a few year and they will probably have to pay him in the $25 million a year range, if they expect to keep him.
Miami has a lot of young talent and should have a bright future ahead of them and I hope this contract doesn’t come back to hurt them.
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