MLB Player News

Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told MLB Network Radio that one of the top offseason goals will be signing outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a contract extension before the winter meetings.

Stanton is considered one of the best hitters in baseball and is set to become a free agent after the 2016 season.  In 2014, Stanton hit. 288 with 37 home runs and 105 RBI in 145 games. 

He missed the last three weeks of the 2014 season after suffering multiple facial fractures and dental damage after being hit in the face by an 88 mph fastball from Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton told reporters Saturday he expects to have a normal offseason, the New York Times reported. Stanton missed the final 17 games of the season after suffering multiple facial fractures and dental damage after being drilled in the face by an 88 mph fastball from Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers.

"It was a long process of just kind of laying around the house, and not being able to leave too much," Stanton said. "But I feel great now, and I'll be back to my normal offseason routine and shouldn't skip a beat."

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double, a home run and two RBI Tuesday but his team couldn't stave off postseason elimination, falling to the Giants 3-2 to end the NLDS on the wrong side of a 3-1 series loss.

Harper went 0 for 7 in the 18-inning Game 2 marathon but has been outstanding otherwise, going 5 for 10 with three home runs and four RBI. He put the Nationals on the board Tuesday with a fifth-inning RBI double then tied the game at 2-2 with a seventh-inning solo home run, but his heroics were not enough to send the series to a fifth game.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt provided the swing that gave his club a 2-0 series lead over the Nationals on Saturday.

Belt, who had just 12 home runs in the regular season, uncorked a solo home run off Tanner Roark to lead off the 18th inning. The long ball proved to be the distance, as he finished 1 for 7 with a run scored and an RBI in a 2-1 Game 2 victory, the longest game in postseason history (6:23). He's gone 5 for 14 with five RBI in three postseason games.

Cardinals third base Matt Carpenter went 2 for 5 with a home run and four RBI in his team's 10-9 win over the Dodgers Friday in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

Carpenter knocked a solo home run in the sixth inning to reduce his team's deficit to four runs before the Cardinals exploded for eight runs in the seventh, three of which came on a bases-loaded double by the third baseman. He hit just eight home runs in the regular season while posting a .272/.375/.375 line in 595 at-bats.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was one of the few bright spots on offense Friday.

Harper played a big role with the bat. In the fifth inning, Harper notched the team's first hit on an infield single. In his next at-bat, Harper led off the seventh inning with a mammoth solo home run. The hit was later ruled the longest home run of Harper's career. Despite the strong game, the Nationals couldn't mount a comeback. Harper finished 2 for 4, with one run scored and one RBI. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went hitless Wednesday against the Giants.

The entire Pirate offense was shut down by Madison Bumgarner, who allowed just four hits all night. McCutchen struck out, flew out and grounded out in three at-bats. He did reach base once, walking in the fourth inning. McCutchen hit .314/.410/.542 over 548 at-bats during the regular season.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went 2 for 3 with two walks and three RBI in his team's 8-0 wild-card victory over the Pirates Wednesday.

Belt was on base when Brandon Crawford opened up the scoring with a fourth-inning grand slam, and the first baseman tacked on a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh on a pair of singles. Belt and the Giants face the Nationals in Washington Friday in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

Marlins president David Samson said even if the team can't sign outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a long-term deal, he is still expected to be part of the Marlins' plans next season, per The Miami Herald.

"He’s on this team [in 2015] either way," Samson said. "I can’t wait until after the season to sit down with Giancarlo and [agent] Joel Wolfe and talk about contract. We’re ready. We want him to be a Marlin well past his arbitration years.

"We hope that he believes in us and believes in Miami and believes in the direction of this team and recognizes that he has a chance to be the leader of a successful team for many years to come."

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 4-3 loss to the Padres Wednesday.

Blackmon put his team up immediately with a home run to lead off the top of the first inning, but the Padres answered with a three-run blast in the bottom half of the first and didn't relinquish the lead. The outfielder has hit .285/.333/.438 with 19 home runs, 72 RBI and 28 stolen bases in 578 at-bats.