Let's all wring our hands about Uggla leaving now so we can get it out of the way...

The Marlins have offered Dan Uggla a 4-year, $48 million contract extension, and Uggla is passing, according to Ken Rosenthal:

The Marlins' frustration with their inability to lock up Uggla is understandable; they offered him the highest average annual salary in club history. A fifth-year vesting option could bridge the gap — if he indeed wants to stay. If not, he potentially could enter the market next offseason as the only second baseman with five 30-homer seasons.

Advanced metrics portray Uggla as a below-average defender at second, but his offensive consistency is remarkable. He's hit between 27 and 33 homers in each of his five seasons with the Marlins, with an OPS that was never above .877 and never below .805.

Ken neglected to mention that Uggla is on the wrong side of 30, and it is far from a foregone conclusion that he can keep up his amazing offensive numbers in two years, much less five. Craig at Fish Stripes thinks Uggla's rebuffing of the offer has more than a little to do with is not entirely unrelated to the Cody Ross waiver claim, but I am not so sure. I think he and his agent sincerely think they can get more money on the open market, and are using that to squeeze a few extra bucks out of the Marlins (as is their right). It's only November, this story is far from over.

If Uggla declines to sign a deal this offseason, the Marlins will likely take him to arbitration for the final year of his contract. He earned $7.8 million in 2010, and could make even more next year. If no deal is done and Uggla does go to arbitration, he almost immediately becomes one of the biggest potential midseason trade chips in baseball should the Marlins struggle in 2011.