The Miami Marlins’ new ownership group, which includes Derek Jeter, is slashing payroll in their first year at the helm, having traded Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna so far this offseason.
ESPN’s Dan Le Batard — who is a Miami native — has been very outspoken against the firesale in Miami, believing that the people of South Florida are getting hosed by Major League Baseball for the fourth time in the franchise’s history.
Le Batard had MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on Wednesday, and he attempted to get some answers from the commissioner in a heated interview.
The popular radio host probed for answers on whether or not the commissioner was aware of the ownership group’s plan to trade players and slash payroll before he approved the sale and if he could see a reason for people to pay to watch the Marlins in 2018.
While Manfred claimed he did not know of the group’s plan, Le Batard continued to go after the commissioner regarding provisions in Jeter’s contract, the likely lack of revenue in Miami in the coming years and why the sale was approved to the Bruce Sherman-led group in the first place.
Take a listen in the video below:
Manfred and Le Batard continued to spar after the video ends, as the commissioner attempted to defend the trade of Stanton to the New York Yankees as a good baseball move over the long haul.
You can listen to the full interview in the video below starting at the 1:19:00 mark.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skbGWZgu4Pg
Personally, we aren’t sure how Manfred can say that the Marlins might be competitive in 2018 without Stanton, Ozuna and Gordon, but we guess that’s why they play the games, even if no one is there to see them played.
