Bruce Sherman’s biggest mistake in this latest Marlins rebuild and how he should fix it
Unlike Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Heat owner Micky Arison, Marlins owner Bruce Sherman speaks with reporters at least once, and often two or three times, each year. Give him at least some credit for that.
But even though Sherman comes across as affable, enthusiastic and cordial during those sessions, he is far from transparent. And that’s the biggest mistake he’s making in trying desperately to retain a dwindling fan base that has been repeatedly burned and betrayed by multiple owners.
As the Marlins on Thursday begin their 33rd season with no realistic hope of sniffing .500 - let alone contending - you can understand at least aspects of what they’re doing.
It’s reasonable to make the case that the Marlins needed to rebuild for the umpteenth time, and that trading established players from an 84-win wild card team in exchange for high-end prospects can be somewhat justified in a market that doesn’t produce nearly enough TV or gate or sponsorship revenue to compete financially with the Mets, Braves and Phillies, among others.
You can make the case to defend the Marlins holding off on spending tens of million in free agency until they’re further along in this latest rebuild, even though it’s embarrassing to field a team with this many players that have no business starting in the big leagues.
During yet another rebuilding year, you can justify giving prospects an extended look at some positions, even though the $47.1 million payroll (per spotrac.com and not counting commitments to players no longer on the team) is absurdly low.
But it’s impossible to justify Sherman evading and dancing and deflecting when asked reasonable questions about why the payroll is so low, exactly when that will change and why the Marlins cannot spend close to the mid-range of big league teams – which would be $165 million, more than three times their current payroll.
(Remember, former team president David Samson told local commissioners that a new stadium would deliver the revenue needed to be a mid-range payroll team. That never proved true.)
I’ve asked Sherman some variation of all of those questions. None are ever directly answered.
If I were advising Sherman - and if he genuinely listened to that counsel - here’s what I would tell him: Be honest with your fan base. It might not buy you sympathy. But it would at least buy you a greater level of trust and understanding.
Marlins fans already have dealt with the tragic death of a young superstar (Jose Fernandez), three roster dismantlings (including the demolition of a World Series team a month after the 1997 parade), trades of future Hall of Fame players (Miguel Cabrera) and a manager (Ozzie Guillen) who angered the Cuban community by seemingly praising Fidel Castro.
I’m guessing this emotionally hardened fan base can pretty much handle anything at this point.
If, in fact, Sherman doesn’t have the money to spend on a payroll topping the current $47 million - and if his ownership partners tell him they don’t want him asking them for their money - Marlins fans deserve to know.
(The original Sherman/Derek Jeter investment documents in 2016, obtained by The Miami Herald, said there would be no cash calls with the team’s minority owners, of which there are believed to be at least 15. But Sherman has always declined to discuss or verify that publicly, as if it would jeopardize national security.)
If Sherman’s master plan is to save money now by fielding by far the cheapest team in the sport, but squirreling away cash to spend when some of these prospects are big-league ready and the team is closer to contention, tell your fan base. It’s really the least you can do.
If you simply don’t have the money to field a competitive team, fans deserve to know.
What exactly is being done with the $70 million plus that the Marlins receive annually in revenue sharing? Tell your fans in detail; that, too, is really the least you can do.
What you shouldn’t do is tell the fan base what you said in November, when you lamented how “we have tens of millions of dollars going into the front office that you don’t necessarily see; nobody talks about it. Everybody talks about free agents.”
What you shouldn’t do is assert, without any supporting evidence, as you did in February, that “we’re going to win a lot more games than you think we will.”
What you shouldn’t do is brag about having the second-biggest weight room in the sport.
Instead of pollyannaish predictions, I’m guessing the fan base would prefer what anyone in any personal relationship would prefer:
That you level with them, honestly and frankly, and tell them about the dark days ahead, what it will entail, when or if you expect a ray of light (and more spending) at the end of the tunnel, and what type of payroll fans can realistically expect in 2026 and beyond.
For now, the Marlins’ $47 million payroll (not counting $18 million due Avisail Garcia, Giancarlo Stanton and Woo Suk-Go and player benefits) is well below their four National League East rivals – the Mets ($312 million), Phillies ($278 million), Braves ($206 million) and Nationals ($98 million).
National owner Mark Lerner has leveled with his fans, telling the Washington Post this offseason that when his chief baseball executive Mike Rizzo “calls me in and says, ‘We really need to think about it,’ for next winter, we’ll talk about it. Right now, he doesn’t think — and I agree with him:
“There’s no point in getting a superstar and paying him hundreds of millions of dollars to win two or three more games. You’ve got to wait until — like Jayson Werth. Jayson was right on the cusp of [the team] being really good, and it took us to the next level. That’s the ideal situation. It’s always on our mind.”
Spending to make the team at least somewhat competitive, something he’s clearly disinclined to do, would be Sherman’s greatest gesture to the fan base. It’s impossible to defend a big-league payroll in this range with a stadium that’s 13 years old and an annual revenue share check topping $70 million.
But at the very least, you must be clear and candid and forthright with whatever Marlins fans are left.
That’s the bare minimum that you owe them as the custodian of the franchise.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM.
