Miami Marlins Slugger Inundated With Questions on Sale

MIAMI — Miami Marlins slugging outfield Giancarlo Stanton voluntarily attended the club's annual media luncheon on Friday to talk baseball, but most of the questions had nothing to do with the team's prospects for the upcoming season.

"Eighty percent of these questions have been nothing about baseball," lamented the home run powerhouse.

Forbes magazine and other media organizations reported on Thursday that team owner Jeffrey Loria had reached a "handshake" agreement to sell the Marlins for $1.6 billion.

"I'm here voluntarily to try to be about the season and what we look forward to and this is what we got to deal with," Stanton insisted to a television news crew.

Quoting sources, Forbes reported that the buyer is a real estate developer based in New York City. ESPN later cited multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations in reporting that Ivanka Trump's father--in-law, Charles Kushner, is part of a potential purchase group.

A spokesman for the Marlins told Patch that the team will not comment on the reports.

The Miami Marlins finished their 24th season in third place in the National League East with a 79-82 record in 2016. It was the second straight season that the Marlins finished in third place.

Ichiro Suzuki recorded hit number 3,000 in 2016 to become only the 30th player in Major League history to reach that mark to tie Roberto Clemente for 29th on baseball's all-time hits list.

But the 2016 season was also marked by tragedy with the death of Marlins' ace José Fernández, who was killed in a September boating accident in South Beach.

His teammates will wear number 16 on their uniforms throughout the upcoming season in honor of Fernández.

Photo of Giancarlo Stanton courtesy Miami Marlins