Derek Jeter stepping down from Marlins
Derek Jeter is a free agent.
The Hall of Famer announced Monday that he was stepping down as CEO of the Miami Marlins after five seasons and Jeter added he would no longer be a shareholder in the team, citing a differing “vision of the future” of the organization.
It marked an abrupt end to Jeter’s stint with the penny-pinching club, which began when he teamed with Bruce Sherman to purchase the Marlins in 2017.
In a statement on Monday, the former Yankee shortstop praised the work he and the Marlins did in his time with Miami, but added, “the vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead. Now is the right time for me to step aside as a new season begins.
“The organization is stronger today than it was five years ago, and I am thankful and grateful to have been a part of this team.”
Jeter was part of an ownership group that purchased the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria for $1.2 billion, which included a 4 percent stake from Jeter, around $25 million.
After last-place finishes in the NL East in 2018 and 2019, Miami made a surprise run into the expanded postseason in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Jeter also helped make history after that season, when he named Kim Ng as the Marlins general manager in November 2020. Ng, a former executive with the Yankees and MLB, became the first woman to be named GM.
But the team took a step back last year, when it finished 67-95.
Prior to last July’s trade deadline, Jeter expressed disappointment with how the team was performing.
“Ultimately, we have to win more games,’’ Jeter said. “I think that the [2021] season has been a disappointment. I think it’s been a disappointment for everyone.”
One AL executive said following the trade deadline that Jeter was still adapting to the reality of working in a place with such strict financial restrictions after spending his entire playing career in The Bronx, as the Marlins ranked near the bottom in payroll each of the last four seasons.
“He’s in a place that needed a lot of work and he’s obviously on the other end of the spectrum from the Yankees, where they had money and tradition and a huge fan base,” the exec said. “He has none of those advantages now. But he’s committed and doing what he’s supposed to do. I don’t think anyone is surprised by that.”
And those issues came to a head this offseason.
According to The Post’s Joel Sherman, sources said prior to the MLB lockout that began in December, team chairman Bruce Sherman gave the go-ahead to increase spending by an additional $10 million-$15 million on payroll when the transaction freeze came to an end, but the plan was later reversed — leading Jeter to question the team’s dedication to building a winner.
That was clearly how the move was viewed by players around the league, who reacted on the same day MLB and the Players Association met again, with the two sides still far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Several players, including Francisco Lindor of the Mets and Mitch Garver of the Twins, tweeted “Re2pect” to Jeter, and ex-Met Justin Turner tweeted that “common sense” told him Jeter “is stepping away from a team with one of the best young pitching staffs in the game because ownership isn’t committed to winning and spending the money to try and win. Derek Jeter is a winner and if you ask him to lose he’s going to step away. Thanks for your continued years of leadership and everything you’ve done for our game.’’
It’s unclear what Jeter’s next step will be, but several sources said it was unlikely the 47-year-old would end up in a role with the Yankees, since he would be looking for a similar setup to what he had in Miami, and that isn’t available in The Bronx — which is how he ended up with the Marlins in the first place.
