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The Pirates have tried at least twice to sign Starling Marte to an extension, but have been rejected each time. The news comes via Rob Biertempfel; I discuss the context of a Starling Marte extension here. It's great news that the Pirates are trying to sign Marte, who probably has a higher floor than the Bucs' other obvious extension candidates (Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker), because he's younger and more athletic, and a better defensive player.
The problem is that the context for extensions is changing, thanks in part to all the big contracts the Braves handed out. Now you have Julio Teheran, a starting pitcher who so far in his career has been very good but hardly great, getting six years and $32.4 million. Marte and Teheran both have between one and two years of service time. It used to be that Denard Span's five-year, $16.5 million deal was the clear blueprint for a Marte extension, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. If the Pirates were to sign Marte for five years, presumably with a team option or two, they would likely need to go north of $20 million guaranteed now. Which is a lot, since Marte isn't even arbitration-eligible for 2014 or 2015, but the Pirates still ought to pay it if it gives them the ability to keep Marte in Pittsburgh for another year or two.