AP Photo/Matt SlocumAccording to Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, the Miami Marlins have extended Starling Marte's contract for a multiyear period.McPherson wrote that Mish and Mish believed the Marlins would reach a deal by the July 30 deadline. If negotiations fail to reach an agreement, Miami could move Marte who is in his final year of a six-year, $31million contract.Marte was reported to be looking to sign for three- or four years, "in the $50 million range." In either case, it's an acceptable salary for a player his age and profile. A four-year contract would pay a lower average salary, but would also mean that the Marlins and another team would have to pay for his age-36 seasons. So a three year deal offers some benefits.In Miami, the 2016 All-Star was one of the best players in 2021. He had six home runs, 18 RBI, and a.296/.403/.456 line through 46 games.His.859 OPS is noticeably higher than his career average of.794, but this can be attributed mainly to the fact that he draws more walks than ever before.FanGraphs has Marte's walk rate of 13.4 percent, which is more than twice his career average of 5.3 percent. He can probably carry his improved vision at the plate into 2022 and beyond.Marte could be traded to the Marlins if they can't reach an agreement with him by the end the month. Miami could likely get more value from Marte than the pick it would get in compensation by offering him the qualifying offer, and then having him decline it in the offseason.However, Marte's departure would not be a good sign for an owner group that is mostly concerned with keeping payroll below the league average.Cot's Baseball Contracts revealed that the Marlins had the 23rd highest Opening Day payroll in MLB in 2018, their first season under the leadership of Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman. Over the next three seasons, they were ranked 29th-27th and 28th respectively.Fans might be curious about the plans of the organization to invest the money it saves by not resigning Marte.
