For a team that has had one of the lowest payrolls in the past few years and claimed they could only spend $155 million to build their own stadium, the Miami Marlins certainly seem to have a lot of money to be throwing around all of the sudden. After reports surfaced yesterday the team had offered Jose Reyes a $90 million, six-year contract, today comes a new report from Yahoo! Sports that claims the team has offered Albert Pujols a stratospheric $225 million contract for nine years. Update: Those rumored figures might not actually be true.
The Miami Marlins aren't messing around. Their standing offer to Albert Pujols is believed to be for nine years. With a competitive average annual value (say $25 million), that's $225 million, minimum, and that's more than what the St. Louis Cardinals are believed to have offered in the spring. Is it possible that two weeks into November Pujols could already have what will be his best offer?If these reports are to be believed, it seems they weren't messing around about upgrading their payroll once they got their new home. Pujols contract would average out to about $25 million a year. Lets put that in context: In 2006 the team's entire payroll was just about $15 million, in 2008 it was only $21.8 million. Pujols would be making more than the entire roster has made in recent years.
The Marlins also have offers out to Jose Reyes (Fox Sports reported six years, $90 million) and Mark Buehrle. Reyes also might have his best offer. ...
That contract would also make Pujols the highest paid athlete in town. He'd make more a year, in payroll at least, than the Heat's big three, and more than twice that of anyone on the Dolphins.
Of course, these numbers are all unconfirmed, but given what other teams may be offering players like Pujols and Reyes, they aren't unrealistic. Lets just hope this isn't some elaborate song-and-dance to give the illusion that the Fish are actually going to spend money as they promised.
Update: Seems that that high figure may not be true. The Herald's Marlins beat writer Clark Spencer tweets, "Marlins offer to Albert Pujols was for less than $200 million."
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