$325 = wtf

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I don't see Stanton (or any human being) living up to that.

[familytoad]

Alex, I agree I cannot see how this would work out for either the Marlins or Giancarlo ....who seems like a good guy, and he's obviously talented, but we've seen a hundred contracts with inflated value go wrong, and essentially none that have paid off.
The Fish will be forced to field another ordinary roster around him.Last I checked no one can win a baseball pennant by themselves.
Stanton won't like losing baseball games due to lesser supporting cast members, and the fans won't buy a new Stanton jersey, t-shirt, poster or mini-bat every game. I just cannot see the business case for guaranteed money to this extent.

Oh well, when will these owners learn? Who cares..it's their money:cool:

[itjclarke]

Agree, this seems like a terrible deal. When I first heard it rumored, I couldn't believe it, and now that it's happened, I'm floored.

Seems when you lock someone up longterm, well prior to their free agency window, the trade off is as follows-- team offers the player more years than is norm for a young player... player then takes slightly less than he would have been worth had he hit free agency in trade for the financial security of a longer deal.

The Giants locked Bumgarner up to a really nice deal that goes into his first years of free agent eligibility. I also remember the Brewers doing similar for Braun a few years ago. This Stanton deal makes no sense because they're paying him at the upper range of his potential free agent value (unless they expect he'll become a .340 hitter to go along with his power by the time he hits free agency), and are guaranteeing more years than anyone would have ever considered... not to mention giving him no trade and opt out clauses.

All said this is a head scratcher, but much of what the Marlins have done during their existance makes little sense.

Alex, I agree I cannot see how this would work out for either the Marlins or Giancarlo ....who seems like a good guy, and he's obviously talented, but we've seen a hundred contracts with inflated value go wrong, and essentially none that have paid off.

The only mega deal (mega at time of signed, but not mega by the time it was up) I can remember that more than paid off (controversy aside) is Barry Bonds when he signed the biggest contract ever at I think 7 years and $42M prior to the 1993 season. His production over the course of the deal was amazing, and it segued into a couple relatively affordable extensions.

[barrysloate]

On the front end, this is a great deal for Miami, locking up a star player at the prime of his career.

But at the back end, say the last 4-5 years, it is likely to be a disaster, costing the team a ton of money for little in return. Another deal that's hard for a fan to figure out.

You know, they could have offered him $225M for nine years, and he probably would have agreed to it.

[Econteachert205]

Stanton will have 1-2 good years. Will not be the same after being hit in the face. Terrible terrible deal. Marlins will go nowhere.

[wolf441]

Why do I feel like the Yankees will be paying the last 10 years of this contract?

[packs]

What I think gets lost in the discussion is that Stanton is only 25 years old. He'll be 38 at the end of his contract. Players aren't necessarily dead in the water at 38 (Jeter led the league in hits at 38; Griffey hit 30 homers at 37).

The Marlins are in a good position right now. They have some great young pitching on the staff already and waiting on the farm. Marcel Ozuna and Christian Yelich took big steps forward last year. If Jose Fernandez comes back 100 percent from TJ they are going to contend in the weak NL East. Fernandez is under contract until 2019, so for almost half of the Stanton contract the two most exciting players will be on the same team.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I will be interested to see about the structure. The team may try to get Stanton to opt out and then look like the bad guy.

[dabigyankeeman]

I think the Marlins are using this to try to build up a fanbase, and i bet they hope that he will use the opt-out clause in 6 years and go to a team like the Dodgers or Yankees. The Marlins should have a very exciting young team, and perhaps this will finally get them a fanbase if they can keep everyone for the next 5 or 6 years.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I think the Marlins are using this to try to build up a fanbase, and i bet they hope that he will use the opt-out clause in 6 years and go to a team like the Dodgers or Yankees. The Marlins should have a very exciting young team, and perhaps this will finally get them a fanbase if they can keep everyone for the next 5 or 6 years.
Loria doesn't seem interested in building a base. He seems focused on making money - even if it comes from revenue sharing only.