Report: New Marlins Owners May Cut Payroll in Half

Derek Jeter’s group may be looking to run the Marlins on the cheap.

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.