JUPITER, Fla. — Now that the initial shock of Derek Jeter’s abrupt departure as CEO of the Marlins has subsided, a mixture of both relief and uncertainty has settled in at their south Florida spring training complex.
Relief for the many Marlin minions who walked around on eggshells throughout Jeter’s four-plus year tenure as Marlins boss. Uncertainty for Don Mattingly, who is in the final year of his contract as Marlins manager and despite the combined $109 million spent on free agent outfielders Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler, probably still doesn’t have enough to beat out the Braves, Mets or Phillies in the NL East for a spot in the postseason.
It is still a bit of a mystery as to what prompted Jeter to end his relationship with the Marlins back on Feb. 28. I asked Mattingly the other day if the Jeter exit caught him by surprise as much as it did everyone else and this is what he said: “Absolutely. I had no clue it was coming. He called me the next day, essentially to say goodbye, and that was about it.”
“Did he say why he was leaving?” I asked him.
“No,” said Mattingly, flatly. “And I don’t want to know.”
According to Marlins insiders, there was a falling out between Jeter and owner Bruce Sherman that had been festering for quite a while. Probably some of it had to do with Sherman’s realization that, in hooking up with Jeter and getting MLB’s blessing to buy the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria in 2017 over Miami business leader Jorge Mas, he wound up grossly over paying ($1.2 billion) for the team — a fact that was further substantiated in the latest Forbes MLB team values report which listed the Marlins at $990 million. In truth, the Cuban-born Mas, a lifetime Miami resident and a billionaire in his own right, was the logical choice to be the Marlins owner, having bid over $800 million for the team and was willing to go to $900 million. But Loria and his stepson David Samson bamboozled Jeter and Sherman into thinking the team was worth more than a billion dollars and that’s when Mas, who knew better, dropped out.
Jeter’s record as a neophyte CEO was mixed at best. He was able to unload Giancarlo Stanton’s onerous $325 million contract on the Yankees, and oversaw a great trade with the Cardinals in which the Marlins sent Marcell Ozuna in a deal that netted ace right-hander Sandy Alcantara. But he got nothing back for Christian Yelich and on the financial and marketing side did nothing to improve the attendance.
“[Jeter] just sucked the air of the team,” one Marlins insider told me. “People were afraid to voice their opinions and I think Sherman got tired of hearing and reading that Jeter was the owner.”
Another source told me that, with his five-year contract as CEO set to expire at the end of this season, Jeter asked for an extension. But when Sherman said he wanted to wait until the end of the season to evaluate things, Jeter saw the writing on the wall and quit. Word is the Marlins are in the process of also buying out his No. 2 man Gary Denbo.
So in their fifth year of Sherman’s stewardship just where are the Marlins now?
Because they finished last in the majors in attendance the last four years, the Marlins rely heavily on their $70 million annual revenue-sharing stipend — a development that does not sit well with so many of the much smaller market teams like Milwaukee, Kansas City and Minnesota who, because they do a much better job of marketing, get much less revenue sharing. Miami is the fastest-growing Latin American community in the county but the Marlins have done little to cultivate that vast potential fan base.
On the field, the feelgood pandemic-plagued 2020 season — in which the Marlins overcame a massive COVID-19 outbreak with nearly 20 members of their team felled by the virus only to finish 31-29 and advance to the Division Series — was all but nullified last year when, decimated by injuries, they finished 67-95. After trading away Starling Marte at the trade deadline to Oakland, they were unsuccessful in luring him back as a free agent.
“Last year was very painful,” Mattingly said, “especially after all we accomplished in 2020 and then weren’t able to build on that progress.”
Last week, Sherman stated unequivocally that the Marlins, whose projected 2022 payroll is about the same $67M it was last year, have money and intend to spend it. The additions of Garcia and Soler in the outfield, along with the trade for the versatile Joey Wendle from the Rays, should provide improvement to the worst offense in baseball that ranked 29th in runs, 28th in homers and 29th in slugging last year. Of all their injury losses last year none was worse than Brian Anderson, their best player two years ago who can play multiple positions, going down for two 60-day IL stints.
“Having Andy back is like bringing in a major MVP-type player,” Mattingly said. “He’s the key for us as he allows me to spell guys elsewhere and is such an important part of our offense.”
Going into last season, the Marlins believed their superior Nos. 1-3 starting pitchers — Cy Young-caliber ace Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and lefty Trevor Rogers — gave them a decided edge over the rest of the NL East, but Lopez had recurring shoulder issues and threw only 102 innings and Rogers missed considerable time with family COVID issues. After those three, the rotation is questionable with unproven hard throwers Jesus Luzardo and Elieser Hernandez. Another problem is center field. They don’t really have one.
Nevertheless, Mattingly and GM Kim Ng, Jeter’s high-profile GM hire last year, are both expressing optimism about contending in the NL East where the Braves, Mets and Phillies all made more expensive and potentially better additions than they did. But if they don’t, will Mattingly become the next ex-Yankee icon to be exiled from Miami?
“Look,” said Mattingly, “I’m 60 years old. I’ve had a lot to be proud of in my career and I don’t worry about those things anymore.”
