Although he only turned 26 in November, Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is about to enter his seventh big-league season overall and sixth full season. He has never played for a winning team. The best the Marlins have ever finished with Stanton is 80-82 in 2010, his partial rookie season.
Needless to say, Stanton wants the team to stop making excuses and contend this coming season. He's ready to win. Here's what he told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro on Saturday:
"We've gone through every excuse in the book -- [we're] young, new people, this and that," Stanton said. "There's no more time for that. We have our core. We have our set lineup. Just about everyone was here from last year, except the coaching staff. We've got to put it together, man."...
"If you don't have it inside [the clubhouse], it's not going to come together between the lines," Stanton said.
The Marlins once again changed managers this offseason -- Stanton has played for eight managers (!) in his seven seasons -- bringing in Don Mattingly after he parted ways with the Dodgers. If nothing else, Mattingly will garner instant respect in the clubhouse given his status as a former star player.
Miami went 71-91 last season while Stanton was limited to 74 games by a broken bone in his left wrist. They signed Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year contract this offseason and made some depth pickups (Edwin Jackson, Chris Johnson, Don Kelly, Craig Breslow, etc.) but otherwise return largely the same team as 2015.
SportsLine currently projects the Marlins to go 80-82 in 2016, a full 10 games out of postseason position. The NL is very top- and bottom-heavy this year. You have the superpowers up top (Cubs, Dodgers, etc.) and the rebuilders at the bottom (Braves, Reds, etc.). The Marlins are sort of stuck in the middle.
Stanton is healthy following his wrist injury and he is entering year two of his massive 13-year, $325 million contract. When he signed that contract, he said he signed it believing the Marlins would do what it takes to contend in the near future, which may have been a little naive given owner Jeffrey Loria's track record.
I do love the team's core though. Stanton, Chen, Jose Fernandez, Dee Gordon, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna is one heck of a starting point. There's enough young talent on the roster that the Marlins could break out and exceed projections this summer. Clearly Stanton is getting frustrated they haven't contended since he arrived.
