Starling Marte, Miami Marlins Haven't Spoken About Contract Extension

Major League Baseball's trade deadline is still about two months away, for those counting at home, and one player whose name has already been bantered about is Miami center fielder Starling Marte.

Marte played eight memorable seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming one of the most popular players on the franchise.

He was traded to Arizona in 2020, and then inked a deal with the Marlins prior to the 2021 season.

This season, Marte is hitting .337 with four homers and 11 RBI. Because of his success on offense, he is now a possible trade chip in Miami. The Marlins are in last in the NL East with a mark of 26-35, 7.5 back of the New York Mets for first.

Despite the fact that Marte becomes a free agent this offseason, GM Kim Ng told reporters Tuesday they have not chatted with Marte about a new deal.

If the Marlins decide they are going to move on without Marte, it would be wise to consider dealing him before the July 30th trade deadline. Dumping Marte won't be easy though, as the outfielder is owed about $7.9M of this season’s $12.5M salary between now and the end of the year.

There's a lot of time between now and the deadline, so expect to hear a lot of rumors about Marte, who could give a number of teams a boost.