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After finishing 69-93 and in last place in the NL East, the Marlins decided to blow up their roster. Much has been made of this "fire-sale," but the team has downplayed it as a normal reaction to a bad season. Let's take a look at what the controversial-Marlins have been up to.
Extension for Giancarlo?
The Marlins will not offer Giancarlo Stanton an extension this year. Now, pardon my editorializing, but why not at least OFFER it? He will probably say no, but if you can lock up Giancarlo Stanton the only question you ask is "how much?" The Marlins say that they want him to get more comfortable, but I don't see how that would even be a logical reason.
Stanton will certainly linger in trade rumors as long as he does not have an extension in place, but it should be interesting to see what the Marlins do with him. They may be beyond the point of having the ability to extend the slugging outfielder, which could also hurt them in trade negotiations.
Loria speaks...
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and team president David Samson spoke today, and were surprisingly candid. They admitted that if attendance did not come up that they would trade off parts, which is certainly a shocking admission. They spoke about how the payroll will "never" be $100 million again, but that also is unsurprising.
When they spoke about how the team should be able to attract free agents in the future, I certainly let out a bit of a giggle. They would need to include full no-trade clauses at the very least, but even then the players would have to worry about their teammates being traded. This is certainly not an ideal situation, and I feel for Marlins fans.
The Next Knuckler, a Marlin?
When the winner of the MLB Network reality show "The Next Knuckler" was decided, they were supposed to fight for a spot with the Diamondbacks. Josh Booty however, is still a member of the Marlins organization as he retired from the team in 1999.
This is an interesting situation, as there really has never been anything like this. No player has ever retired from a team, then over 10 years later won a reality show and gone to camp with another team. I have enjoyed watching the show and following Booty, so I will certainly follow this story as it unfolds.
