While the Marlins’ Jeffrey Loria era will soon end, the franchise’s low-payroll ways won’t, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter agreed to purchase the team from Loria for $1.2 billion ($400MM of which will come from Sherman), but they don’t have the type of money necessary to spend big on a roster, according to a potential investor who spoke with Jackson. Sherman and Jeter informed Jackson’s source that they plan to pare down payroll from $115MM to either $80MM to $85MM or $55MM in 2018, depending on whether they trade high-priced MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton. Slashing spending won’t sit well with Marlins fans who have witnessed the team go on a late-season run and Stanton turn in an awe-inspiring 2017 performance, Jackson notes. And Jackson adds other details that likely won’t please fans, either, as the investor told him Jeter’s set to pay himself $5MM per year until he recoups his $25MM investment and get a company credit card so he can cover expenses from his home in Tampa Bay to Miami. Further, Jackson suggests that FOX won’t be renegotiating the Marlins’ television contract, the least valuable in baseball, before its expiration at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.
More from the National League…
- The Pirates placed utilityman Josh Harrison on the disabled list with a broken left pinky finger and recalled fellow infielder/outfielder Chris Bostick from Triple-A on Sunday, per a team announcement. The injury, which is the result of a hit by pitch from Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle on Saturday, will end Harrison’s season, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review. The 30-year-old Harrison currently leads the majors in HBPs (23, two more than Anthony Rizzo) and closes 2017 having produced 3.2 rWAR/2.5 fWAR and a .272/.339/.432 batting line with 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 542 plate appearances. Depending on whether the struggling Pirates elect to rebuild over the winter, it’s possible Harrison has played his last game as a Buc. The versatile veteran is reasonably priced through 2020, including a pair of club option years, and could be a trade candidate.
- The Braves will check first baseman Freddie Freeman’s left wrist for structural damage on Monday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. “There’s no pain. I just have no strength,” said Freeman, who fractured his wrist May 18 and didn’t return until July 4. While the superstar has hit an outstanding .294/.375/.520 since coming back, that output pales in comparison to Freeman’s otherworldly .341/.461/.748 pre-injury line. Freeman told Mark Bowman of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he has been swinging a “wet newspaper,” has “nothing left,” and that his “bat speed is absolutely gone.” The left-handed slugger also revealed that facing hard-throwing southpaws has recently presented a challenge from a mental standpoint because of his wrist issue. Even though he’s clearly less than 100 percent and the Braves aren’t in contention, Freeman insists he’s not going to shut it down early this year, per O’Brien.
- Righty Edwin Jackson’s unexpected success with the Nationals is the result of diligent work he has done with trainer Kevin Visser dating back to the offseason, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post details. “He was adamant that he didn’t think he had peaked yet,” Visser said of his initial meeting in December with the 33-year-old Jackson. The two quickly began making adjustments to Jackson’s mechanics, dropping his elbow 135 degrees and having him land toward home with his shoulders squared to the plate, Castillo explains. The changes didn’t immediately yield positive results, evidenced by Jackson’s very brief and difficult stint with the Orioles earlier in the season, but he has gotten more comfortable as the year has progressed. In his second go-round with Washington, which signed Jackson to a minor league deal in June, the veteran of 12 teams has logged a 2.49 ERA across 49 innings (eight starts) and recorded his lowest walk rate (2.76 BB/9) since 2012.
Why would MLB allow a sale of a team to a group that isn’t able or willing to fund a realistic major league payroll? Saying “Either $85MM or $55MM” is basically saying “Either nothing or less than nothing” in 2017 baseball dollars. I get wanting Jeter to be involved, but this has brought new embarrassment to a team that’s had enough of it.
So you’re asking them to give away money? They have to set payroll below their income so that they can afford to pay coaches and other behind the scene things. If the stadium doesn’t make that much money how can you expect them to spend higher?
Considering every team gets $52 million for national tv alone, and even the Marlins garbage tv contract gives them $18 million, $55 million makes very little sense, especially when you then factor in other revenue
Why would you pay over a BILLION dollars for a business that doesn’t make money?
The Marlins are on the hook to lose over $50 million. The revenues currently aren’t there to support a $115 million payroll and have a proper scouting and player development system (two things that are a huge need for this team to grow). As much as it pains anyone, these need to trade Stanton this off-season and would be wise to trade Dee Gordon while he has value (speed players tend to lose value as they age).
This would be the right move regardless of which group bought the team. I don’t agree with Jeter giving himself a $5 million dollar contract to re-coup his investment. Ownership should be paid through profits or when you sell. Instead of giving himself that type of money it should be used to further along the team through player development, or acquisition. If the $25 million he put in was such a big deal, he shouldn’t be an owner
The Marlins farm system is trash b/c of terrible trades, that never made any sense, over the last several years, injuries, and bad drafting in the first 3 rounds of the last few drafts, as well as refusal to participate in international spending since before Loria even took ownership. That has nothing to do with revenue
There is no way the Marlins are losing that much money. It’s just how Loria and Samson have spun it over the years, and in the past, it has been proven false. So I don’t buy the Marlins being in massive debt narrative b/c if you just include the public knowledge we have on what teams get without considering their own revenue streams, it’s all B.S.. And the Marlins are a team that benefits from revenue sharing as well lol…
I personally think that it’s time to retool/rebuild, but the claims of them being ridiculously in debt are trash
I think that’s just for now, I’d expect them to raise payroll once they recoup much of their investment. Not their fault the Marlins are in massive debt
Because MLB desperately wants Loria out, and because other teams have stripped down radically and rebuilt with younger players. Why not the Marlins?
You are spot on.
Sad another Pirates A’s owner!
“We have enough money to buy the team, but not enough money to run the team.”
Oh, well that’s okay . It’s yours!
Looks like the Marlins will trade Stanton and the new group will try and get pitching to improve the team. Jeter will have a good feel for building a team, but the fact that this team doesn’t draw well will make it difficult.
What it really looks like is Jeter is only in this as window dressing. Seems he will paid off and be out in five years. It’s similar to Magic Johnson’s involvement with the Dodgers. He was supposed to be the local face for the out of town owners but nobody who actually goes to games believes that anymore. At least the new Dodgers owners had the money to not only buy the team but to actually run it.
and the money too be the highest spending team!
Their debt level is fairly astonishing. They at least had the guts to borrow money to pay for the big Dodger payroll. The Marlins seem to lack the confidence to do even that.
They inherited a lot of that debt from McCourt, another under capitalized owner who ran his team on the cheap.
Why do you assume that Jeter will do well in baseball operations? That seems like a common assumption and I’m not so sure the game is well – equipped to be run for former players anymore. Basically every team has hired Ivy League – educated front offices with ample front office experience; Jeter has none.
I’m not saying he’s not a smart guy with good connections, but I’d expect some massive growing pains unless he hires a strong front office staff and is a bit more hands-off than expected. Dave Stewart was a great player too…
Ok down – voting friends, it was a legitimate question. Anyone actually care to offer an answer for why they believe Jeter will make for a great owner, other than that he’s Jeter?
Not that anyone should care about getting downvoted, but I think there have been some trolls just doing it for the sake of doing it in these articles
I personally feel that Jeter will be part of bringing in the right people to run the organization.
I don’t actually care lol. It was a legitimate question though and I was hoping for some sort of feedback, and you seem to be the only person willing to respond to anything Marlins – related. Will definitely be curious to see who he brings in for a front office. He should have ample connections, and he can’t possibly be worse than Loria, but I’ve found the “Jeter as savior” narrative kinda short-sighted, especially because some, including the OP, seem to be implying that he’ll directly be responsible for player acquisition, which would be a mistake IMO
To be honest, fans down here didn’t want Jeter. They wanted Jorge Mas. They are worried that Jeter/Sherman has no money, and they’re going to be the same as Loria. I personally don’t believe that. They also didn’t think he’d have the money to make a bid, and they did. I’ve heard that a potential frontrunner for a high ranking front office position is Gary Denbo from the Yankees. That seems like it would be a good hire, and a good start, so I personally have faith that things will work out eventually, until it’s otherwise proven. Until anything actually happens, everything is speculation, in my opinion
I appreciate the perspective that I have no access to in Buffalo. I do think Denbo would be a decent hire, has ample experience in coaching, scouting and the front office and seems to be a key piece of one the league’s more successful organizations.
As a Red Sox fan as well, it’s weird for me to be pulling for these Yankees to make my organization better lol, but I’m of the belief that anything is better than Loria. I’m prepared to lose a lot of money i dont have, celebrating the day he is finally removed from this organization, this city, and our game
As a Marlins fan, I wouldn’t be opposed to Jeter and Co. paring down payroll and trading Stanton, if it means payroll relief and good prospects. He’s a superstar but I worry about him staying healthy. Thus, I think we should trade Stanton if someone takes on at least 90% of his salary and gives us 3 top 100 prospects. If not, hold on to him. No matter what, the main order of business for them should be to trade Chen, Prado, Gordon, Ziegler, and Tazawa by any means necessary to clear payroll. Even if that means eating half the money on Ziegler, Tazawa, Chen and Prado and getting whatever prospect value they can… We should be able to get at least two decent prospects for Gordon while getting rid of his contract in entirety. Don’t think Chen is tradable at this point however. Trading Gordon, Prado, Zieg and Tazawa, payroll should be down to about 80-85 million.
C Realmuto
1B Bour
2B Dietrich
SS Riddle
3B Anderson
LF Ozuna
CF Yelich
RF Stanton
Bench
C/1B Telis
UT Rojas
Fill out the bench with cheap veterans/organizational depth players
Bullpen
Lead by Barraclough and Steckenrider, fill out the rest with cheap vets and organization depth
Rotation
Straily, Urena, Conley, Chen, Peters, and a mix of a cheap FA and organization depth: Nicolino, Jarlin Garcia, etc.
Who is going to give the Marlins 3 top prospects AND take on all that money? Stanton is a HUGE injury risk, and now the big money starts. Not that many clubs can afford to take on the contract, so the market is limited. The Marlins will have to make a choice…top prospects OR payroll relief; not likely they’ll get both.
Obviously there has to be a degree of negotiation but I doubt Miami will pay a large portion for Stanton to play somewhere else. There are teams that could use him and desperately need a player like him, such as the Giants or the Blue Jays, teams that have expressed interest and although I’m not familiar with their farm systems, no way Miami trades Stanton without getting a great return. He’s going to be the NL MVP. There’s value in performance more so than a bad contract at the end of the day.
But therein lies the problem…while any team would like to add Stanton to their lineup it becomes a matter of cost vs risk; paying $300M AND giving up a king’s ransom to acquire him is fine…if you get the 2017 version. But can you guarantee that that is the Stanton you’ll get, and not the one who missed 200+ games over a 4 year span? Most teams would reject doing both. Some teams might be willing to part with a significant prospect haul for Stanton if the Marlins pay down (30%?) his contract (perhaps the White sox?) or be willing to take all of his contract if the prospect cost is minimal (Phillies?), but to do both is extremely risky. Especially considering that if you are a team that can afford his $300M contract, you can go out and use that money to sign Manny Machado or Bryce Harper next year…or a combination of Eric Hosmer and something else either this year or next.
My guess is Stanton gets traded to a team that absorbs his contract and they get one really good prospect, perhaps a major league player, and a couple of valuable lottery tickets.
I agree with most of the points you’ve made, but I have to nitpick one thing…why would the White Sox trade top prospects for Stanton? That would literally go against everything they’ve been doing
If you know that Stanton has injury problems, and that’s the reason you want to trade him. That means the other teams also know.
There is zero chance we get rid of Dees money and get actual pieces for him, let alone multiple pieces
If the owners are going to keep payroll at $55 million outside of Stanton, they might as well trade him. Nobody can win nine-on-one…
This is how the Dodgers were ruined. Selling the team to ppl who don’t have large wealth.
My EXACT thoughts.……
I’ve been saying all year that everyone not named Stanton, Yelich, and Realmuto should be moved. The optimism over the new owners isn’t just about payroll. As a Marlins fan, it isn’t for me at least. I don’t expect them to come in and magically save the current roster by spending $150 million. Nobody should. It wouldn’t make sense for them to do it…but after the organization starts running like an actual organization, and they put themselves into position to make good moves towards winning, this new ownership can finally do the right things, which is not a possibility with Jeffrey Loria. Also, we will finally be away from the ridiculous pettiness we saw from Loria over the last 15 years. Stuff that might not even have anything to do with spending money. The point is there is actual hope for the future, whereas there has never been with Loria
Still, dropping all the way down to $55 million doesn’t really seem plausible for multiple reasons, so we’ll see how that works. They’d have to get rid of Dee, Prado, Tazawa, and Chen without eating money. I don’t see that being close to possible. They’re also still stuck with Volquez, who won’t pitch next season
When Harrison leaves the Bucs, I wonder what team is going to take him, and where they will play him. Although he was primarily a second baseman/third baseman for the Bucs, I wonder if a team would consider him a fulltime shortstop or corner outfielder.
He’s definitely not a full time can cover it in a pinch.
I feel like perhaps the plan is to cut payroll, get rid of debt, recoup investment than move team to where it has a more viable economic market. But of course if you say that, the fans will revolt and not show up, making it harder to recoup your investment
They should have put the stadium north in Palm Beach county. The number of retirees in that area would fill that stadium a lot better than in Miami.
If I was a baseball owner or GM there is no way I take on Stanton’s contract. that is just plain business stupid.
As for buying the Marlins, many economic forecasts have the USA economy tanking bigtime in the next 2-3 years which will devalue baseball teams especially in Florida because the cable fees and advertising dollars with all but dry up. My bet is the Marlins can be bought for $325 mill in 3 years – that is how bad the devaluation is going to get. What will cause this? The USA debt is scheduled to implode on itself then. Lookout, this is no joke. Besides, a money losing baseball team is worth $1.2 billion? Not a chance.
He won’t be traded because of it. It’s a guarantee he’s gonna opt out in 2020. He wants to win. He’ll never do that in Miami. I doubt he wants to play at Marlins park for 10 more years with less than 10k fans a game.
Can you really drop an arm angle 135 degrees? Seems like he’d be throwing backwards at that point.
135 degrees apparently wasn’t enough to fool Domingo Santana today.
Anthony Rizzo for MVP. He will no doubt get 1st place votes. Hopefully he gets mvp because the gold glove is a lock. This.year the cubs will have 3 gold glove winners at least. Javy Rizzo and JHey. The latter 2 are guaranteed. Javy might as well be a shoe in for it. He could be a dual winner at SS and at 2nd.
Why would rizzo win MVP?
Why not 30+ home runs 100+ rbi he’s batting .280ish. His team is playoff bond. He’s one of the best on both sides defense and.offense. only goldschmidt has more rbi and a few.more homers. He’s good om.Defense but rizzo is better. No guarantee the dbacks make the playoffs. The only way Stanton gets it is the Marlins win the wild card. They’ll be one and some. Doesn’t matter if he breaks McGuires 70 home run record he ain’t winning jack with no playoff appearance.
I hope you realize trout one MVP and his team wasn’t playoff bound. It’s not always about being a playoff team. There is no way that Rizzo wins over Stanton who is hitting .285 with 52 HR, 111 RBI’s and a 6.5 WAR. He would win MVP if the marlins finished 20 games below .500.
The last time trout won Anaheim was the wild card and was one and done. Or maybe that was the previous years. Trout is the only player right now that would win mvp on a bad team. Stanton isn’t as good as trout. Stanton will not be mvp..its gonna be Rizzo or goldy
Edwin Jackson’s FIP is 5.01. He’s due to imploded.
It would’ve been better if the Marlins were sold to Jorge Mas. He might’ve been more inclined and able to invest in the team. Perhaps this new ownership will invest more in scouting/player develop but it sounds like they’re more interested in a short-term ROI. This could just end up being re-branding, different owners, same mindset.
Generally any person who has the balls to outright say how they’d be better is an “I am” person. All about themselves. Which means that Mas would also have been better at ripping off fans.
Illitch was never an “I am” person. He just did what he did to try and win.
Most people who talk themselves up also drink their own bath water.