As a potential labor stoppage looms largely over Major League Baseball's upcoming offseason, the talk of a salary cap has a lot of folks talking, but it's the notion of a payroll plan that involves a city floor that could be intriguing for the Miami Marlins.

If baseball eventually adopts a minimum payroll, Miami could potentially use money it would otherwise spend on outside free agents to lock up its young core on long-term contracts. That could help the club meet a spending requirement while preserving its competitive window and buying out some of its players' arbitration years and early free-agent seasons.

Christina De Nicola of MLB.com recently wrote about the possibility and examined Miami's potential extensions, naming catcher Joe Mack and right-hander Eury Pérez as prime candidates. It also notes that the Marlins discussed an extension with Kyle Stowers the previous offseason as well.

"The Marlins don’t have to extend anyone," De Nicola stated in the October 7 article. "Still, extensions are a way for smaller-market clubs to buy out arbitration-eligible and free-agency years in case a player outperforms a budget and is then more inclined to test the open market in the future."

According to Commissioner Rob Manfred and the Major League Baseball owners, a proposed $171.2 million payroll floor for 2027 would allow smaller-market teams to keep homegrown talent and participate more heavily in free agency. Twelve franchises, including Miami, would be required to increase their spending to reach this threshold.

This supports the theory that offering extensions to young players aligns with the franchise’s overall objectives, and it seems to be the most logical approach. Locking in a core of young players like Mack, Eury Perez, and possibly even All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez could be a foundation for the Fish to construct the team around -- potentially for the next 5-6 years.

That not only means you get those players for the better part of their baseball primes, but you create synergy as they connect with the South Florida fan base. For years, the team has had a revolving door of young players who ended up playing for the New York Yankees or some other big-money powerhouse contender. Now? They can nail together a squad that friends of the Fish can call ‘our guys’.

If the team is having its arm twisted to spend more money, then it might as well invest in what they already have in the 305. That would essentially kill two birds with one stone. They lock up their own emerging stars, and at the same time, they receive twice the insulation from losing their homegrown talent even more due to wealthier teams being forced to shed payroll to meet the cap. So it could be a great time for the Fish to get cooking while the skillet is hot.

It's also a win for the players and fans, as both can be comfortable knowing the centerpieces of the big league roster are essentially accounted for. So when the dust settles, the Marlins may end up with a terrific return on investment from baseball's new CBA... one that gives them equity in a bright future.