It will be a bittersweet offseason if Marcum continues his stellar first 6 weeks of the season through the end of 2011. At the moment, I would project Marcum at 16-8 with a sub 3.00 ERA, sub 1.10 WHIP and 4-1 K-BB Ratio. At that pace, even with his injury history, i'd imagine he might be able to position himself for a 5-7 year contract at 18-20/per. I realize there is a huge risk in signing a pitcher with injury history to a long term deal, but I'm starting to feel that if Marcum has a stellar first half, the All-Star break might be our final opportunity to sign him beyond 2012 before he decides he wants to test the market. Early discussion surrounded a contract offer between 4/40 and 4/56 to Marcum. Might Melvin be seriously considering tendering Marcum? While our early season struggles suggest we might not be able to put it together in the Fielder Era, i believe that signing Marcum long term is a key factor in keeping Greinke around post 2012.