Jeter says Miami Marlins are ‘stronger today’ than when he took over. Are they? An analysis
In his statement announcing he will no longer be CEO nor a shareholder with the Miami Marlins, Derek Jeter made an assertion about the direction of the franchise.
“The organization is stronger today,” Jeter said, “than it was five years ago.”
Now the question: Is it and, if so, will it remain that way?
The answer depends on the point of view.
The Marlins went 218-327 in four seasons since the Bruce Sherman ownership group bought the team in September 2017 and Jeter became the club’s CEO overseeing day-to-day operations as well as a four-percent stakeholder in the franchise. They had a winning record and made the playoffs once in that span — the pandemic-shorted 2020 season in which the playoff field was expanded.
But Miami also has a much deeper farm system, one that is much improved from the one the Marlins had after the 2017 season, and saw individual improvements and signs of potential from several of the key players that were added under Jeter’s tenure. Whether that production, and maybe an increase in money invested in the MLB payroll, would make a difference entering 2022 remains to be seen.
Derek Jeter’s influence seen throughout organization
Now, to cut to the chase: Almost the entirety of the team, from key players on the roster to front-office decision-makers, were brought in under Jeter’s watch.
Of the players on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, 32 — or 80 percent — have been added to the franchise during the past four years.
The only eight players from that group who preceded Jeter’s tenure in Miami: shortstop Miguel Rojas, third baseman Brian Anderson, pitchers Pablo Lopez, Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera, Jordan Holloway and Braxton Garrett, and outfielder prospect Jerar Encarnacion.
The baseball operations and scouting departments are filled with New York Yankees flair that joined Jeter in South Florida, including general manager Kim Ng, assistant general manager Dan Greenlee, vice president of player development and scouting Gary Denbo, director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik, director of professional scouting Hadi Raad. Manager Don Mattingly, who was part of the Marlins organization before the new ownership group arrived, also overlapped with Jeter in New York during their playing careers. That’s a lot of people coming from a system that knows how to create a winning philosophy.
Relying primarily on internal growth
Unlike the Yankees, though, the Marlins aren’t a high-payroll team.
As such, Jeter and the Marlins put an emphasis on growing the organizational talent primarily through trades and the draft and supplementing those players with veterans on shorter deals. Jeter said multiple times that he didn’t want to block prospects who were close to reaching the big leagues.
There have been individual success stories.
Pitcher Sandy Alcantara, acquired in the Marcell Ozuna trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, has turned into the team’s ace. Middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., acquired at the trade deadline in 2019 for Zac Gallen (also acquired in the Ozuna trade), served as Miami’s starting second baseman in 2021 and could potentially move over to shortstop. First baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Cooper, acquired from the Yankees along with Caleb Smith, has been one of the Marlins’ top bats when healthy. First baseman Lewin Diaz (2019 trade acquisition) as well as outfielders Jesus Sanchez (2019 trade acquisition) and Bryan De La Cruz (2021 trade acquisition) showed strides in extended playing time in 2021.
And most of the top talent moving up the in Miami’s minor-league system have been added to the organization under Jeter’s watch. All but three of their current top-30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline were acquired during the past four years either via trade, draft or international free agent signings.
The Marlins even got to the point where they were able to trade surplus minor-league talent at outfielder and pitcher to execute their primary two trades of the offseason, acquiring catcher Jacob Stallings for pitchers Zach Thompson and Kyle Nicolas along with outfielder Connor Scott as well as trading outfielder Kameron Misner for infielder Joey Wendle.
Where things go from here
Roster decisions are in Ng’s hands for now. She will oversee the Marlins’ baseball operations until a new CEO is hired.
Miami showed prior to the lockout, relatively speaking, that it is willing to spend money on key players. The Marlins extended Alcantara and signed Avisail Garcia.
But more is needed to compete in the NL East.
When the lockout ends, will the Marlins be willing keep the checkbook open or will they try to rely on their next wave of prospects nearing their MLB debut?
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 4:24 PM.
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