Marlins will shop Stanton at meetings
Star slugger is owed $295 million over next 10 years
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Miami Marlins will spend this week’s general managers’ meetings shopping Giancarlo Stanton, the pricey slugger who led the major leagues with 59 home runs but does not fit into the plans of the new payroll-paring baseball operations staff headed by former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.
As the meetings began Monday, Marlins president of baseball operations Mike Hill said, “I think over the next few days I’ll get a feel for what the marketplace is for our players.”
Stanton, who turned 28 last week, is owed $295 million over the final decade of his record $325 million, 13-year contract. He has a full notrade provision, so he can determine his destination.
Hill said, “I do have a sense, and we’ll keep that internal, and at the appropriate time we’ll discuss whatever we need to discuss.”
BRAVES: The remake of the Braves’ management was completed Monday when Alex Anthopoulos was named general manager and John Hart was removed as team president.
Anthopoulos, a former Dodgers and Blue Jays executive, will have autonomy of baseball operations, giving him more power than any Braves general manager since John Schuerholz served from 1990 to 2007. Anthopoulos also was given the title of executive vice president, while Hart will assume a senior adviser role, team chairman Terry McGuirk announced at a news conference that Hart did not attend.
BELTRAN: It took quite some time, but Carlos Beltran finally got there, winning a World Series title after 20 seasons in the majors.
Now he is leaving the Houston Astros and leaving baseball, retiring after a career in which he was a nine-time All-Star and was Rookie of the Year. The 40-year-old designated hitter and outfielder made the announcement Monday, 12 days after the Astros beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.
He announced his retirement in an essay written for The Players’ Tribune website. His story touched on what finally winning a championship meant to him.
“I realized early on that my purpose in this game was to share knowledge with younger players and to give back to the game of baseball,” he wrote. “I always wanted to do that — that, and be the best teammate I could possibly be. Over 20 years, I feel like I accomplished that.” DODGERS-PADRES: The Dodgers and Padres will play a three-game series at Monterrey, Mexico, from May 4-6.
The games had been originally scheduled for San Diego’s Petco Park, and the shift to Estadio de Beisbol was announced Monday. The Padres will remain the home team.