The Miami Marlins and Kyle Stowers had contract extension talks earlier this offseason, but the two sides were incredibly far apart in potential compensation and discussions have ceased, industry sources told The Athletic.
Stowers, the club’s lone All-Star selection this year, led the team with 4.0 fWAR and hit 25 homers with a .288/.386/.544 line and 149 wRC+ over 457 plate appearances before an oblique strain ended his season in mid-August. The 27-year-old isn’t arbitration eligible until 2027 and won’t be a free agent until 2030.
Stowers’ camp was believed to be seeking a deal around $100 million — similar to that of Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who signed an eight-year contract extension valued at $106.75 million in 2023 — which the Marlins balked at.
Miami’s comfort level, sources say, was more along the lines of Cedanne Rafaela, who signed an eight-year, $50 million deal with the Boston Red Sox in April with fewer than 50 days of big-league service time. Stowers debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 2022, though he didn’t find consistent playing time until he was traded to Miami at the 2024 deadline, emerging as the team’s best hitter this past season.
Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix declined to comment. Stowers’ agent, Lonnie Murray, also declined to comment.
The perennially stingy Marlins, according to multiple offseason reports, have a sudden willingness to spend this winter, though some in the industry doubt how sincere those efforts are. As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported on Monday, the Marlins are expected to be among the league’s highest-revenue sharing recipients at around $70 million — if not more — when Major League Baseball releases its final 2025 luxury-tax payrolls.
The Marlins’ payroll was roughly $85 million, which is well below the 150 percent required of revenue-receiving teams to spend according to the sport’s collective bargaining agreement. The Marlins already have two active grievances against them from the players’ union for previous failures to hit that standard.
Miami, sources say, is also entertaining offers for right-handed pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who is set to make $17.3 million, which would further drive down the team’s payroll. Still, the Marlins are coming off a fairly successful 2024 in which the team went 79-83, including 54-42 from mid-June on, and finished third in the National League East.
Asked at the general managers’ meetings last month if he felt this offseason was more important than the previous two he’s had in charge, Bendix said, “We are trying to get this franchise where it’s never been before, which is consistently good,” while noting that the Marlins have reached the 90-win mark just twice in franchise history. “The ultimate goal is to win the World Series like the Dodgers did in back-to-back years but the fact that we are building at the major-league and minor-league level and trying to be at the forefront of this industry, even getting asked that question is exciting.”
It’s unclear when the initial extension discussions with Stowers began or whether there’s a chance one side will reopen talks this winter.