MLB PLAYER NEWS

Miami offer Stanton long-term deal

The Sports Xchange

November 05, 2014 at 5:40 pm.

Stanton, one of three finalists for the National League Most Valuable Player award, led the league with 37 homers and a .555 slugging percentage this year. He came in second in the NL with a .395 on-base percentage and 105 RBIs. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins are attempting to lock up their top offensive player, right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, for the long term.

In multiple interviews this week, Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said the team was in talks with Stanton’s agent regarding a multiyear contract.

Stanton, one of three finalists for the National League Most Valuable Player award, led the league with 37 homers and a .555 slugging percentage this year. He came in second in the NL with a .395 on-base percentage and 105 RBIs.

“We tabled everything till the offseason and we’ve reached out to his representatives,” Hill said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “I still there think there are a few things that are undecided as they pertain to the MVP and that. I think once we get through that we hopefully can get into some deep discussions and make sure Giancarlo is a Marlin for many years to come.”

Stanton, 24, led the league in RBIs when he was hit in the face by a pitch Sept. 11, ending his season due to facial fractures and dental damage.

He will be eligible for arbitration this winter, and his salary will rise sharply from the $5.5 million he made in 2014. Unless he signs a long-term deal, Stanton would be eligible for free agency in November 2016.

“I think the bottom line, he’s like most players, he wants to win and wants to feel like he has an opportunity every year to win,” Hill said. “His goal is no different than (general manager) Dan Jennings and mine, in that we want to build a sustainable, winning ballclub, and he’s a big part of it.

“But I think anybody who saw us play, you saw the young talent that we’re able to surround him with now. We just need to take that next step and find whatever it is that is going to help us get over the hump and be one of 10 (playoff teams) come October 2015.”