The Miami Marlins are blowing up their team 1 year after giving Giancarlo Stanton $325 million - and it could push him out the door
Despite being offered a historic payday, Stanton told Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated that he was "angered" by the offer.
"I put the paper down, and I was like, 'I'll tell you right now that numbers don't mean anything,'" Stanton said. "'If you think you're just going to pay me a bunch of money, and I'm going to go live my lavish lifestyle, come to the park and get my ass kicked every day, and go back to my lavish lifestyle, you got another thing coming.' I said that straight to their faces. I was angered."
Of course, he eventually signed, saying he was convinced because he loves Miami, liked the Marlins young core, and believed the front office was done gutting the team and rebuilding.
A year and a half later, the Marlins are 55-79 and set to miss the playoffs for the 12th year in a row.
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported there are "sweeping changes" coming to the organization.
The Marlins, under orders from owner Jeffrey Loria, are making sweeping changes to the team's baseball operations, from player development and scouting, all the way up to the front office.
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"Everybody's on pins and needles," said one source within the organization.
This includes possibly removing Dan Jennings as manager and general manager after he was moved from the front office to the dugout midseason. Jennings has struggled as a coach, much to the relief of other managers who believe that not every front office guy can make the switch so easily.
There's also been turmoil with Jeff Loria, whom Spencer says hasn't been showing up to games, and skipped the end-of-the-season team photo.
There's not much help on the horizon in terms of player personnel either. Spencer mentions that the Marlins farm system ranks as one of the worst in the majors, and next season they're simply banking on better health after several big-name players got hurt, including Stanton. Stanton has been out since June 26 after hurting his wrist.
As Joel Sherman of the New York Post argues, if the Marlins' turmoil continues, Stanton may be eyeing next season's trade deadline. There's little help on the way from the minors, and the Marlins don't currently seem like an attractive free agent destination. Sherman also notes that Stanton's contract is back-loaded - the first six years pay him $107 million, and he has an opt out after the sixth year in case he's not happy with the Marlins. While that opt-out is still awhile off, if the Marlins continue to flounder, they could be encouraged to trade Stanton and get something back before he leaves for nothing.
Stanton was sold on a brighter, more stable future with the Marlins. Through year one, they haven't lived up to that agreement, and things must really be bad if a player could hesitate before accepting $325 million. If things don't improve quickly, it's possible that the Marlins' investment could have been for naught.