Miami Marlins: Offer Reportedly Made to Starling Marte

According to the Miami Herald, the Miami Marlins have reportedly offered a $30 million extension for Starling Marte. This deal is significantly apart from what the Marte camp is expecting as they have expressed interest in a three to four-year deal worth $50 million.

While the extension talks between the Marlins and Marte are still in the preliminary stages, the trade deadline is less than a month away. With Marte possibly being a crucial piece for a playoff-contending team, he can possibly draw a fair-sized haul in return for Miami.

This initial offer could be the Marlins showing face to the fans. As they are reportedly $20 million apart from a deal with the Marlins best hitter, they could just be trying to show the fans that they at least tried to make a deal.

Will the Miami Marlins trade Starling Marte?

Miami has been inconsistent, to say the least, but if they do end up moving Marte by the trade deadline, this season should be considered finished. The Fish are currently in the basement of the division, and the only teams they are ahead of in the Wild Card standings are the Diamondbacks and Pirates.

While fans may be disappointed and see the similarities this organization is beginning to have from the old ownership group, this could be the right move for this club to build for the near future.

Marte is going to turn 33 in October. This team has a tremendous pitching staff in the minors, but the bats are a different story. While there are great stories such as Griffin Conine,who has 17 HR’s and is slashing  .264/.359/.530, Jesus Sanchez, who has become a mainstay for the big league team, is also impressing.

Miami has a chance to build up their young batting depth by dealing Marte. This may not be what Marlins fans want to hear, especially since they made the playoffs last year, and were expecting to build from that performance.

However, any fan can also see the struggles they have offensively is something that will not be fixed quickly, and Marte may not be producing the same numbers next year. It may be prudent to sell high on Marte who has a career-high OPS at .859.