Marlins CEO Derek Jeter today said the financial state of the unprofitable franchise is unsustainable and vowed changes will be made. “We need to make adjustments,” Jeter said in Orlando during his first MLB owners’ meeting. “We can’t continue to run the organization how it’s been run (under prior owner Jeffrey Loria). So we have to change that. … There are some financial things we have to get in order. It’s an organization that’s been losing money for quite some time, so we have to turn that around. How we do that, it’s not clear.”
Jeter did not commit to trading RF Giancarlo Stanton, who is still owed $295M on his contract and has been an early fixture in offseason trade chatter around the industry. “It’s easy to point the finger at him because he makes the most money. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a move that’s going to be made,” he said. Jeter added there has been no contact between him and Stanton since the ownership transfer was approved in early October. “If there’s a reason to call him, I’ll call him,” Jeter said. “When the time is right, we’ll speak.”
He acknowledged the redevelopment of the franchise will “take time” and called for patience, but he refused to forfeit any postseason aspirations for '18, in part citing the Yankees’ surprise run this year. “You’re assuming we’re going to lose. I don’t assume that. I don’t agree that the World Series is unrealistic,” he said. Jeter also said the process to find a president of business operations is still ongoing. That effort, being handled in collaboration with Turnkey Search, could be done by early next month.
