Marlins will attempt to lock up Dee Gordon this offseason

In a disappointing season defined by injuries and inconsistencies there has been one, constant bright spot for the Marlins in 2015: Dee Gordon. From Opening Day through game 156, Gordon has been an exciting catalyst for the Marlins offense in his first season with the club. The front office has been so pleased with Gordon's performance that they plan on trying to lock him up to a long-term deal this offseason, via Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com:

As his longtime agent Rick Thurman pointed out, just imagine if he (Gordon) started seriously playing baseball sooner than his senior year in high school. This winter the Marlins will try to lock him up. As a plus, he's a fine young man. The Miami Herald wrote about how he aims to honor his deceased mother, who was murdered when he was a young boy.

Gordon has paced the Marlins this season with a batting line of .332/.356/.412. During his All-Star season Gordon has also crossed the plate 82 times and swiped 56 bases. He currently sits at the top of the MLB hit list with 196, giving him a chance to surpass 200 hits in a single season for the first time in his career.

The Marlins dealt away their top pitching prospect, in Andrew Heaney, away to the Dodgers in exchange for Gordon and Dan Haren this past offseason. The major knock on Gordon's game was that as a lead-off man he was not efficient in getting on base, as he only drew 31 walks and posted a .326 OBP in 2014. Although his walks did not see an increase in 2015, his OBP was raised to .356. Gordon has not only improved at the plate, but in the field as well. His .993 fielding percentage is tops among all qualified second basemen.

The Miami Herald also reported that the Marlins will attempt to sign Gordon to a long-term extension this offseason.The speedy second baseman currently has two years of arbitration left on his deal. The Marlins could be looking to avoid arbitration with Gordon by locking the 27-year-old up long-term.

Last offseason the Marlins talked about the importance of building on their young core. After extending Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, the club could continue to sure up their core by extending Dee Gordon, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Jose Fernandez to long-term deals. The Marlins will have a good amount of money to spend this offseason, but it will be interesting to watch if they opt to spend it in-house or to bring in veterans from the outside to improve the club's chances of competing now.