The Marlins don’t seem especially likely to contend in 2020. But the club clearly has designs on drawing some attention — from local fans and the national baseball scene — to its efforts.
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro captures the prevailing internal sentiment in a post that includes some quotes from skipper Don Mattingly and a video interview with CEO Derek Jeter. Both of those key leaders are obviously former Yankees legends, and the oft-noted connection certainly seems to inform the Miami organization’s plans.
Speaking from an ownership-level perspective, Jeter left no doubt that he seeks to recreate the winning culture that he came up with in the George Steinbrenner-owned Yankees. How do you create that? Per Jeter, you simply “start winning” in the minors and beyond.
It certainly sounds like mindset is a key for the Fish. Jeter says he expects the team’s players to embrace the open opportunities and challenges ahead of them. He has advised the team that “competition eliminates complacency.”
Jeter is obviously applying some pressure to the MLB roster. “Our guys are being pushed” in camp, he says. The plan for the pitching staff is “a little bit old school;” the club will “let ’em take their lumps along the road.”
Talent isn’t something that can just be willed into existence. But the team proved its own commitment to its philosophy when it parted with a series of interesting pitchers this winter. The Marlins were tired of waiting for potential to translate into MLB ability; other organizations were willing to commit 40-man roster spots to the discarded arms.
The Miami organization has replaced some of that unproven talent with a series of sturdy veteran types. The idea seems to be that it’s time to move towards results at the MLB level.
Mattingly certainly says as much. He’s looking for “significant improvement” in the win-loss column. It shouldn’t be too hard to move the ball after a 57-win 2019 campaign, but Mattingly says he also hopes his charges can “make some noise” in 2020.
There’s obviously a strong long-term connection between the on-field product and the team’s off-field business efforts. The Marlins have an increasingly interesting group of talent on hand but fans are understandably wary after years of unmet expectations. Jeter spoke of a need to build “trust” with the fanbase. And he also acknowledged that the club’s ongoing efforts to hammer out a new (and hopefully more lucrative) television contract are of “huge” importance.
ForestCobraAL
When is the next selloff?
As soon as they get a group of young productive players together who the real teams want.
Big Smoke
This is truly the hottest, most original take I’ve ever seen on this website. Must be nice being this miserable
parx
It’s literally what they’ve done every single time they get a group of productive young players other teams want, they have done it every time, don’t be so hurt by truth its weak
Big Smoke
That “group of productive young players” couldn’t even muster up a .500 record, plus the team had a farm that was ranked as the worst in the league. Also didn’t help that the team was $400 million in debt and were about to increase payroll immensely if they didn’t trade them away. You’re right, the truth hurts
MoRivera 1999
parx
1997, 2003
Except for those years you might have a point
mco_rays_fan
You forgot 1998 and 2004, proving Parx’s point
Big Smoke
You forgot they only retooled their roster after 2003 and only had their fire sale after 2005, disproving Prax’s point
arc89
Jeter is proving just because you can play the game you can’t judge talent or run a team
Brixton
I dont really see what hes doing so poorly? The yelich deal is the only true oops to this point
DrDan75
Giving away Chris Paddack a few years back for Fernando Rodney is a pretty big “oops”
sandman12
And Luis Castillo
OntariGro
Even bigger oops by the Marlins letting Jeter make that trade 2 seasons before he bought the team. Diabolical.
its_happening
Jeter’s been Marlins CEO since Sept 2017. Castillo and Paddock were moved in 2016.
DrLava
jeter wasnt with the marlins when they traded castillo and paddack.
jeter traded yelich, stanton, ozuna, and realmuto. only good trade hes made was getting nick anderson.
Mjm117
That was under the previous Ownership…
Mjm117
Marlins traded RP Anderson to the Rays for a top 100 prospect and a RP.
lowtalker1
And naylor
jdgoat
Jeter really screwed up the Miguel Cabrera trade as well
Big Smoke
Imagine believing Jeter was responsible for trading away Castillo and Paddack LMFAO. Goes to show you that most of the “hot” takes in the comment section are hot garbage. The only trade since 2017 that looks bad is the Yelich one, and even then the Marlins can still salvage some good value out of Harrison, Yamamoto, and Diaz.
jolink65
You mean the deal that was made before Jeter’s group bought the team? Can’t see how you can put that on Jeter.
Eatdust666
Con Artist Loria was still in charge, though.
Eatdust666
Con Artist Loria was still in charge, though.
andrewgauldin
The Stanton trade, Dee Gordon trade, and David Phelps trade were all huge wins for the fish. One could make a solid argument that they also won the Ozuna trade, as well as the Realmuto trade (although still too early to tell). Once again, so far, the only bad trade the marlins have made under Jeter has been the Yelich one. Zac Gallen for Chizzholm didn’t look good at the moment but only time will tell.
920kodiak
I agree. What he inherited hadn’t won. He has enough skin in the game that he is being allowed to tear it down and rebuild. It’s going to take awhile, but he is being allowed to wait it out. Not every move is going to work out, though.
tesseract
Does this surprise anyone? Front offices are clearly populated executives with law degrees from Harvard and with 10+ years of experience working in a front office capacity. Who do you think will have the edge?
bucnole31658
He’s proving that he has done amazing job in the transition. The pitching staff is loaded through all levels and getting close offensive s d defensively. They win 72-75 this and .509 next. They are ahead of Houston shen they did it 10 years ago
davidk1979
Ahahahahahahaha!
davidk1979
Jeter runs the Marlins as well as he played defense
stratcrowder
Hall of Fame defense.
shabagel
Oh no, Jeter caught the stupid.
Les Chesterfield
Bigger disgrace than any cheating scandal was letting jeter the joke broke buy a team. They wrecked the trade market that still hasn’t recovered from their fire sale. MLB has priced themselves out of quality ownership and you see it w every potential sale. At the same time the quality of play is at an all time high. MLB Players could support several more teams. Ownership can’t keep the ones they got in good standing. Typical Corp America
bucnole31658
Well jester didn’t buy a team lol
YankeesBleacherCreature
wat
larry48
Marlins are the worst team in NL east. Marlins will be last for years to come and they will be bad long after Mattingly is gone. They would be last in NL if no for Pirates. I agree the Marlins keep trading players away to keep from getting better
OntariGro
The Marlins HAVE been last in the NL in Jeter’s 1st two seasons. Worse than the Pirates even.
bucnole31658
I’ll take that bet
sandman12
Well, Dickerson, Kemp, Joyce, Aguilar, Cervelli, and Villar added to oldies Berti, Rojas, and Cooper and the Marlins have about the oldest roster in the game. The club calls them wisened veterans that are there to school the young guys … but there are no young guys. It’s like an expansion team.
Big Smoke
You’re making it sound like those guys are in their 40s lmao. If you need to refresh yourself on the ages of the players, go to Wikipedia
OofAndYikes
How stupid are you? They were the 9th youngest team in 2019 and maybe marginally got older by swapping out relievers. I don’t care that you hate on the marlins but dang dude, hate on them with correct facts
Ricky Adams
Is this all an attempt to relocate? I dont follow Marlins, but gotta be some reason for the stupid moves the team is making
rognog
If they can get attendance low enough by picking up guys from the penal and Mexican leagues they can move the team to Cleveland.
Ricky Adams
Is this all an attempt to relocate? I dont follow Marlins, but gotta be some reason for the stupid moves the team is making
Ricky Adams
Is this all an attempt to relocate? I dont follow Marlins, but gotta be some reason for the stupid moves the team is making
Mjm117
They can’t relocate.
Ricky Adams
Is this all an attempt to relocate? I dont follow Marlins, but gotta be some reason for the stupid moves the team is making
its_happening
Is this an attempt to get noticed?
aias
LOL!
DrLava
do we reply to this moron all 4 times?
Rsox
Did we really expect Jeter and Mattingly to come out say “our expectations for 2020 is to suck a little less than 2019”.
YankeesBleacherCreature
A ten game improvement to 67 wins would be a very good acheivement realistically.
chieflove42
dont be shocked if Marlins are 500 this year. last years team reminded me a lot of the 2002 squad and with some many prospects looking close to big league ready this team could turn into the 2003 team.
sandman12
What good are major league ready prospects when you have a full roster of old guys in their way?
Rsox
To be fair Miami/Ft.Lauderdale is basically God’s waiting room
iron
No one from Fort Lauderdale goes to Miami to watch a game, nor for any other reason.
RoyalsFanAmongWolves
I just checked the roster…And they only have maybe five players listed that are over 30. Most of the others on the roster are in their early to middle 20s.
Mjm117
Bert, Rojas, Dickerson, Cervalli, and Joyce are all at least 30+. Only Rojas and Dickerson are penciled in as Starters.
Every other projected starter is under 30 years of age. The starting Pitchers consisters of 23 or 24 year olds and one 28 year old.
Yeap, roster filled with old aging players on their last leg. You nailed it.
OofAndYikes
Is this your first year following baseball lmao. Knitzler, Villar, Aguilar, and maybe Dickerson are flip candidates that can be replaced with Vesia, Chisholm, L. Diaz, and whatever top OF the Marlins feel is ready from their stacked group.
its_happening
3rd full season with the Marlins. Not sure why people are already writing Jeter off with a full rebuild starting Oct 2017. Expect the Marlins to improve but still fall short of 70 wins. The full rebuild “should” have them contend in 2022.
Until then, simmer down people. It’s 2020 and the Marlins still have a ton of questions to address over the next two years. If you’re expecting instant success you’ll need to follow whichever city built a new superteam in the NBA.
RoyalsFanAmongWolves
And don’t forget they lost a budding ace, Jose Fernandez, in that tragic boating accident.
its_happening
Royals that tragedy was the beginning of the end. I still believe the Marlins contend for the playoffs in 2017 with their ace on the mound.
YankeesBleacherCreature
A sensible comment! A lot of their sentiments stems from their own teams that are happy to stay mediocre. Marlins had a plan for a full organizational rebuild and franchise facelift and it’s slowly coming together. Bashing former owner Jeff Loria was fun but he has nothing to do with the team anymore.
jolink65
Not a Marlins fan, but I’m really tired of people ripping Jeter for the Marlins’ lack of success since his group bought the team. Their plan was a full rebuild, meaning they had to tear down the entire system and start building from the ground up. That’s going to take a long time. Expecting them to improve immediately and criticizing them when they inevitably don’t improve right away is really idiotic. They have to develop the young talent they drafted and traded for. Give him another few years before people start criticizing him.
its_happening
Exactly. We can look back at the 2011-2014 Astros as a prime example, and explore all the moves they made. If people looked at some of the players they had and who they traded them for they’d see even they made some blunders and still got away with it. The time to judge Jeter is 2022. Earliest.
StPeteStingRays
Is this all an attempt to relocate? I don’t follow Marlins (you’d have to be the world’s fastest swimmer), but gotta be some reason for the stupid moves the team is making
DrLava
how many times and with how many accounts are you gonna ask this?
StPeteStingRays
Ummmmmmm, Doctor. I was poking fun at Ricky Adams.
DrLava
im sure
bravesfan
They straight stink… but I definitely think they will have their team is much better this year
Chasingamymatt123
The Yelich deal I give you as a poor return but getting Stanton off the books is a huge win. I love him as a player but his injury record at that price…eek. osuna didn’t set the world on fire post trade. I like what the Marlins are doing. Give them time. More competition the better imo
MetsFan22
His expectations better be 30+ games out of first lol. Or he will be disappointed.
OofAndYikes
How many rings have the Mets gifted the AL? 4? 5? And 35 years lmao
HalosHeavenJJ
I feel bad for Miami fans. Another buyer with local ties who would’ve invested in the team was passed over for the Jeter group. Now there’s a joke of a franchise with no end to losing in sight.
MoRivera 1999
It’s not the Jeter group. Jeter is a teensy investor in that deal. Like $35MM or so. He is not making the large strategic money decisions on his own.
Rangers29
Ok, I want to throw everybody on this thread a hypothetical question: Say you are the gm of the Marlins in 2017. You still have the group of Realmuto, Stanton, Ozuna, and Yelich, but you are told by ownership that you NEED to trade one. Assuming you will get a great return in proportion to the player’s value. Who will you trade?
Chasingamymatt123
Stanton. Great player but the contract is a killer to a team like the marlins and they cant even hide him at dh
Mjm117
That contract is killer to any team. Especially if the player is consistently injured.
YankeesBleacherCreature
The last time I checked, Stanton was still at least a league average LF’er defensively. I don’t understand writing him off just beacuse of injuries.
MoRivera 1999
Funny thing is just about everyone lambasted that deal when it was done, accused Jeter of doing a sweetheart for NYY. Now they applaud the deal. Bwahaha.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Yelich has the most trade value obviously. Then Realmuto, Ozuna, and Stanton.
its_happening
Contracts aside, it’s Stanton. But with that extension it would have been tricky (in hindsight at that moment). For that season it’s Ozuna because it was his breakout year and you trade a guy at his very peak.
sacball
OK Boomers
Chief Two Hands
Lame internet sheep comment.
Bill Skiles
Hahaha.
.
WeedBedWilly
Maybe Jeter will make they shave their mustaches too.
Big Smoke
Most of the “hot” takes here getting voted up reek of burning garbage. As someone who’s followed the team for several years, I can see that this this rebuild has been progressing albeit slower than expected. With that being said, 2020 will be a litmus test for the Jeter regime. All of the moves made this offseason have only improved the team, and I wouldn’t be shocked if many of the younger guys take the next step forward. In my opinion, judgement on the ownership group should be held off until this year is over; this team might surprise in the toughest division in baseball
Rangers29
Getting Villar, Dickerson, and Aguliar to pair with Anderson Isan Diaz,and Jorge Alfaro will make for a surprisingly good lineup. Also, putting Villar in center to pair with Dickerson would be a nice left field – center field duo. I do like their pitching staff with Smith, Alcantara, Lopez, and Yamamoto it’ll be a surprisingly good staff. Their bullpen is a huge question mark though (as is usual with rebuilding teams).
Overall, in a tough division, I have a feeling that they are a 75 win team. Don’t @ me.
its_happening
It’s not far fetched to think that, Rangers29. I see them losing under 100 and challenging 70 wins. It will hinge on their growth on the mound.
Luckystrikes
Jeters best trade was while he was with Yankees, getting Babe Ruth from Red Sox . He also realized talent of Lou Gehrig.
marlins17
I’ll never understand the amount of anger towards the Marlins. Granted its mostly by people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and throwing out incorrect statements.
wjf010
Okay, Derek.
Big Smoke
@marlins17 This deadass happens in literally every Marlins article, go figure
Chief Two Hands
Mattingly is a terrible manager. The only reason he has that job is due to his name.
Chief Two Hands
I told Marlins fans the same thing when the team first signed him after the Dodgers had finally wised up and let him walk. He manages like he is constantly referring to a “How To Manage A Baseball Team For Dummies” pamphlet. When he was managing the Dodgers, I watched him regularly make terrible decisions based solely on situational conditions with no regard for the players involved and the result was that he was easily out-managed by opposing managers. Commentators and analysts also regularly questioned his obviously poor decisions.
rognog
Guy took a paycut in order to be a stooge.
Moneyballer
“WE WILL SUCK” – Derek Jeter
“IM MANAGING A TEAM THAT WILL SUCK” – Don Mattingly
MoRivera 1999
“I’M A WORLD CLASS JERK” – Moneyballer
Moneyballer
Haha says the internet troll. Im realistic!
rognog
They’ve got the tank part down, now they just need to start systematically cheating.
OofAndYikes
I legit don’t understand how people can speak with such confidence when they know so little and regurgitate old takes that are blatantly wrong. The marlins, as a complete franchise, deserve a good amount of heat for how they’ve handled things, but then you have people in this very comment section who can’t or won’t separate ownership groups, as evident about the genius saying Jeter traded Paddack and Castillo or whatever.
I don’t expect people to know what’s going on with the Marlins outside of preconceived notions, but dang, y’all speak with such confidence and make yourselves look like such fools to people who do know. Realmuto is a walk risk, and even if he stays with the Phillies, it’s still a fair trade. Ozuna is with his 3rd team in 4 years, and it got the Marlins Alcantara and Gallen/Chisholm. Stanton can be a monster with the Yankees if he ever gets healthy, but the Marlins just couldn’t afford to keep him, and so far, it’s looking like the right decision (*so far*). Yelich is a L through and through, but I still would love to be presented with evidence that people knew he would turn from a solid, above average player to top 5 in a matter of half a season. More power to him too, he’ll added a couple hundred million in career earnings.
It’s a shame too cause I like baseball discussions, but y’all are so petty and so dumb with your takes that it’s not even good or funny banter.
phillyballers
Top draft pick.