The Miami Marlins have been the most active team so far in the MLB off-season but that activity has mostly been shredding salary. The team has traded away stars Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon in three blockbusters, and in a recent interview, Gordon called the moves “embarrassing.”
“It’s terrible,” Gordon, now a Seattle Mariner, told the Sun-Sentinel. “It’s almost — I’m not even going to say almost. It’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing.
“I don’t want to bash anyone, but what’s happened is not good.”
The Marlins were sold to an investment group led by venture capitalist Bruce Sherman and former New York Yankee Derek Jeter in October for close to $1.2 billion. According to the Sun-Sentinel, the new owners want to cut the team’s payroll down to $90 million.
Last season’s opening day payroll was $115 million.
To reach that goal, the Marlins traded some big-name players for mostly future assets. Gordon seemed surprised that such drastic moves have already been made, less than two months after the sale was completed.
“At first it was like, ha ha ha, they bought the team and they’re going to trade us,” Gordon said. “We were like, there’s no way you can buy a team for $1 billion and have to trade everybody.”
Gordon remains close with many of his former Marlins teammates and says most of them are unhappy. He said that he hopes the team can find trades for other veterans before another long rebuilding process begins.
“I think you have to let the dude go win,” Gordon said of outfielder Christian Yelich, who’s name has come up in trade rumours. “That’s what you did for the rest of us, let us have a chance to win. Let him go win.
“I feel bad for [Yelich], because he’s my brother. I feel bad for J.T. [Realmuto], I feel bad for [Justin Bour]. I feel bad for [Martin] Prado. I feel bad for those guys.”
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