Report: New Marlins Owners May Cut Payroll in Half
Marlins fans hoping things would be different under the new Derek Jeter-led ownership group may be sorely disappointed.
Jeter and Bruce Sherman’s investor group would like to reduce Miami’s $115 million payroll to as little as $55 million, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.
Jackson cites a potential Marlins investor who was briefed on the Jeter-Sherman group’s plans for running the team. The new owners would like to carry a payroll of $80 million to $85 million, but the figure could be as low as $55 million if the Marlins are able to trade Giancarlo Stanton’s $25 million salary. But Jackson also includes an important caveat: it isn’t clear if the Marlins’ recent resurgence as a Wild Card contender altered those plans at all.
Stanton’s contract is a massive obligation for the new owners. The deal is worth a total of $325 million over 13 years, running through the 2028 season. After making $14 million this year, Stanton’s salary jumps to $25 million for 2018. He has the ability to opt out of the deal following the 2020 season.
The other big Marlins contracts on the books for 2018 are Martin Prado ($13.5 million), Edinson Volquez ($13 million), Dee Gordon ($10.8 million) and Wei-Yin Chen ($10 million). Chen also has a $20 million player option in 2019 and a $22 million player option in 2020.
Even some of the Marlins’ cheap young stars stand to make significantly more money next season. Christian Yelich’s salary doubles from $3.5 million to $7 million and Marcell Ozuna is entering arbitration after a career-best year at the plate.
The league average payroll is about $150 million and Miami’s is projected to rise to at least $140 million if none of its veterans are traded.
Jeter himself will be running baseball operations, alongside a more seasoned front office executive. Jeter, who is paying $25 million of the $1.2 billion purchase price, plans to pay himself a salary of $5 million annually, according to Jackson’s source.
