MLB Player News

Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said Tuesday teams haven't reached out lately to inquire about outfielder Giancarlo Stanton since they are aware the Marlins are trying to sign him to a long-term deal, according to the New York Daily News.

The Marlins' goal remains to sign outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a long-term deal and not trade the 25-year-old slugger, according to the New York Post. Negotiations remain ongoing with Stanton, and general manager Dan Jennings told Joel Sherman, "There’s only one hope -- we want to sign him."

It is believed it could take an average salary of $28-30 million to sign Stanton to a long-term deal.

Marlins president David Samson has claimed that slugger Giancarlo Stanton "is on the team either way" in 2015, according to the Boston Herald, which is offering that the Red Sox could seek to obtain him through the trading of top prospects.

Speculation is that the Marlins, who have been working on a contract extension with Stanton, cannot afford to keep him. Stanton is slated for free agency after the 2016 season. But he will be needed if Miami hopes to make a playoff push next year in a mediocre National League East. The Marlins were on the periphery of playoff contention through much of 2014.

The Marlins have reached out to outfielder Giancarlo Stanton about a contract extension, and talks are "ongoing," according to the Miami Herald. 

Stanton is under team control through 2016, but the club would like to work out a deal now. Miami hasn't had the best history of signing guys to long-term deals, and there's a sense Stanton will leave if he's allowed to hit free agency. Stanton is coming off the finest season of his career, in which he hit .288/.395/.555 over 539 at-bats with 37 home runs. 

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.