Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has agreed to a 13-year, $325 million contract, according to FOX Sports baseball insiders Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi.The deal is the most lucrative in professional sports history, eclipsing the 10-year, $292 million contract of Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Stanton's contract includes a player opt-out clause after six years and a full no-trade clause. Stanton, 25, hit .288/.395/.555 with 105 RBI and a National League-best 37 homers in 145 games this past season -- good enough for a second-place finish in the NL MVP voting. His season ended on Sept. 11, after he suffered facial fractures and laceration when hit by a pitch.
In his five-year major-league career, Stanton has 154 homers and a .903 OPS.Stanton wasn't due to become eligible for free agency until after the 2016 season, and signing him to a long-term deal was considered a long shot for the Marlins. They haven't reached the playoffs since 2003, and he was distrustful of the franchise's direction after its latest payroll purge in 2012.
Any kind of multiyear deal is a big departure for the Marlins, whose frugal ways in the past alienated fans, angered the players' union and made them the butt of jokes.The last time the Marlins spent big was before a poor 2012 season, the first in their new ballpark. Their 2014 payroll of $52.3 million was the lowest in the majors, and owner Jeffrey Loria has been widely unpopular.Stanton's season ended Sept. 11 when he was hit in the face by a pitch. Despite missing the final 17 games, he led the NL with 37 homers and a .555 slugging percentage for the Marlins, who went 77-85 but ended a three-year streak of last-place finishes in the NL East.The Marlins have said they're not concerned the injuries will have lingering effects. They made locking up Stanton their top offseason priority and overcame his skepticism about their efforts to fielding a winning team.Stanton made a team-high $6.5 million in 2014. The two-time All-Star right fielder recently won the NL Hank Aaron Award and was voted the NL's outstanding player in balloting by his fellow major leaguers. He won a Silver Slugger Award and finished second to Clayton Kershaw in NL MVP voting.Fox Sports
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