A potential Marlins investor who was "specifically briefed" by the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter ownership group this summer said that they "spoke of a payroll being pulled back" from $115M to potentially as low as $55M if RF Giancarlo Stanton is traded or $80-85M if Stanton is retained at $25M next season, according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. Whether those numbers have "changed since the investor was briefed is unclear, because those conversations happened before the Marlins surged back into wild card contention in recent weeks." The contacted investor said that the Sherman/Jeter group has "concluded that this market, at this time, simply cannot afford a high payroll, considering the team is on pace to lose" more than $50M this season. But Stanton’s "epic season [53 home runs], and the Marlins’ August surge, have created a quandary that the new owners didn’t expect." When it "looked like this team would go nowhere, they assumed slashing salary and rebuilding would be understood by the fan base." Now some fans will be "alienated if Sherman and Jeter deal Stanton," who is due between $25M and $32M each of the next 10 years (MIAMIHERALD.com, 9/3).
COST REDUCTION: SI.com's Jon Tayler wrote Jeter and ownership likely "will try to move Stanton," LF Christian Yelich and anyone else currently above the $1M mark, then "try to rebuild on the cheap." But those players are the "core of the team, and while they’ll bring back a better return than the busted likes" of 3B Martin Prado or P Edinson Volquez, "selling them off to save money will doom the Marlins to a dismal 2018 season -- and likely far longer than that." Jeter would then be "following the blueprint laid out" by Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria, who has twice "dismantled his team in an effort to save money." It would also be a "terrible look" for MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred if a new ownership group were to "come in and try to run things on the cheap." But for as "bad as the Marlins have it, MLB can’t be happy with the idea that Jeter doesn’t seem to have any desire to put money into the franchise" (SI.com, 9/4). NBC Sports Bay Area's Ray Ratto said, "They're running up against the reality that they don't have enough money. ... What you're saying is, 'We're coming in, we're new owners, be really excited about us because we are going 55-107.'" NBC Sports' Bay Area's Kelli Johnson: "Fans really thought this is great because they thought the previous owner, Jeff Loria, was cheap. ... I don't know how you're going to win anything if you're literally cutting back from $115 million, which is what they have this year, to possibly as low as $55 million" (“The Happy Hour,” NBC Sports Bay Area, 9/4).
