It might not be Kyle Stowers, but Miami Marlins will extend someone this offseason

The Miami Marlins might not have plenty of money, but they sure do have plenty of young talent.

And for the first time in a long time, it's looking like Miami's front office might finally be over those pesky commitment issues. Look out MLB talent market?

After years of watching the division rival Atlanta Braves lock up one young star after another, any activity on this score would represent a massive win for Marlins fans. More importantly, it would be a sign that the arrow was pointed up on Miami's competitive prospects, and a big step in the right direction for the team's stated aim of being a consistent winner, year in and year out.

Unfortunately, it seems All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers hit the pause button on the Miami Marlins happy spending plans when he turned down a recent extension offer. Far and away the biggest breakout star for Miami in 2025, it makes sense that the team made him their first priority. Despite missing nearly two months, he led the team in almost every offensive category, and finished as a Gold Glove finalist. Stowers is clearly a star on the rise and a big part of the club's hopes to contend in 2026 and beyond.

Fortunately for the Marlins though, there's enough promising talent for the front office to just move down to the next name on the list if Stowers' camp opts not to budge on their contract demands.

As The Athletic's report notes, Marlins owner Bruce Sherman could be partially motivated in his willingness to open up the wallet by a desire to keep the MLB revenue sharing funds coming and staving off a grievance from the league. In the MLB Trade Rumors follow up, Darragh McDonald shared a very illuminating insight that a team's CBT figure is based on average annual value (AAV), not strictly what a player is slated to earn that year. Which means that a backloaded extension or two could make a lot of sense for the Marlins, on and off the diamond.

Stowers might have had the best season for Miami. But that doesn't mean that Agustin Ramirez and Jakob Marsee didn't have great ones themselves, or that Robby Snelling and Thomas White didn't vault themselves to the top of every pitching prospect list. Eury Perez is coming off a down season, but is still viewed as one of the most exciting young arms in the game.

If all of those players are good as the Marlins believe them to be, then none of them will ever be cheaper than they are right now.

It all adds up to someone being extended by Miami this offseason, and quickly- before other teams act on their own comparable young talent and further drive up the price. It will curry favor with the fans, with MLB, and prove to all the members of the organization that the Marlins are willing to reward players for their hard work.

That's the kind of message every team wants to be sending. The Marlins tried to do it with Stowers, and came up short.

Don't expect Miami to stop trying to send that message though. It just might be time to expect them to send it by extending somebody else.