2014 Quarry Unlimited - #21 Miami Marlins Part 1

As we enter the bottom third of the countdown, we come to the Miami Marlins.  The Marlins are the absolute epitome of the principle "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."  I am no longer going to be at the Marlins for pulling the rug out from under their fans because any fans that the Marlins still have deserve everything they get.  This offseason appears to be another crest for the wave of the Marlins.  Last season's better than expected results has led the Marlins to acquire a few relatively big names and sign one of the game's better young players to a godawful big contract that according to your source may or may not be a genius move. 

The Stanton contract is for 13 years and 325 million dollars (with a 14th year option at $25 million) with a no-trade clause and a very key "opt out" clause.  Those are Yankee/Dodger type numbers for the little Marlins.  The opt out clause of the significantly backloaded contract is after the 2020 season.  In effect that clause means Stanton signed two different contracts.  The first is 6 years at 107 million.  The second is 7 years at 218 million.  The risk here is 100% on the Marlins which is very surprising to say the least.  If Stanton continues to play at an All-World level for the next 6 years, he will probably opt out and get a slightly bigger second deal from the Dodgers or Yankees or someone else. 

However if Stanton tails off, which is infinitely more likely in my opinion, the Marlins could be in serious trouble in the next decade.  How many players in the past have been really good for their first few seasons and then dropped off the radar?  This contract is basically saying that Giancarlo Stanton needs to be a GUARANTEED Hall of Famer after his 4th season.  Some of the players that would have been in the same boat as Stanton: Juan Gonzalez, Jose Canseco, Bob Horner, Andruw Jones, Darryl Strawberry.  These are the players that are on Baseball Reference most similar players through 25 and each of them fell off significantly before Stanton's big money will have kicked in.  I just can't see this working out well for the Marlins.  This has the potential to be a franchise killing contract.  In some ways, that would be just desserts for the Marlins.

MARLINS TEAM TRIVIA

Total # of Marlins in 2014 - 45

# of new Marlins in 2014 - 18

Best score in 2014 - May 14 at Dodgers 13-3

Worst score in 2014 - May 9 at Padres 10-1

Border color that worked best with this team - Green

Border color that worked least with this team - Orange

Position on last year's list - #24 = UP 3

Let's take a look at the first half of the 2014 Miami Marlins with the manager's card leading the way.

 

PURPLE

GREEN

BLUE

I'll be back tomorrow with Part 2.  As usual, your thoughts are always welcome and encouraged.

Thanx for reading.