Derek Jeter was once the G.O.A.T., now he's just an actual goat.
Welcome to the Miami Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
Jeter once brought the New York Yankees back to glory.
But now he's dragging the Miami Marlins back into hell.
Jeter, the new Marlins CEO, who owns a 4% stake in the franchise, stupidly traded two-time All-Star 2B Dee Gordon to Seattle for a handful of minor leaguers.
And he foolishly traded National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the New York Yankees for 2B Starlin Castro and a couple minor leaguers.
Total joke.
But the way he traded Stanton is the most laughable.
Jeter reportedly threatened Stanton to choose either St. Louis or San Francisco as a trade destination, otherwise, Stanton would play for the Marlins "for life."
But, as ESPN's Andrew Marchand puts it... "If it weren't for Stanton's foresight or fortitude... not blinking in the face of the threats by the Marlins' new Derek Jeter-led regime to keep him in South Florida against his will for the next decade -- he would have never slipped on his No. 27 pinstripe jersey on Monday."
And Jeter's not facing the music.
Pretty weak Jeets!
But he did have time for MNF!
Even weaker Jeets!
The Stanton deal was so insane that you can't help but think -- "Is Jeter's purpose as Marlins CEO to provide the New York Yankees a chance at another World Series?"
Talk about collusion!
Why would he and this new ownership group make these utterly moronic moves?
Simple.
Reports are that he and the new ownership group -- after buying the team for $1.1B -- immediately found themselves $400M in debt.
Hence the "everybody must go" selloff.
So, bye-bye Gordon and the $37M he's owed and so-long Stanton and the $218M he's owed.
Even though they're each worth every penny and then some.
The winners here are clear:
1. Yankees
2. Mariners
3. Gordon and Stanton.
The losers are even more clear.
1. Marlins
2. Marlins fans
3. Jeter
And it won't get better anytime soon.
The selloff will continue.
Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich are reportedly being shopped as we speak.
The only hope is that this franchise can rebuild via developing young talent quickly like the Houston Astros did.
But there's no reason or evidence to believe that'll happen anytime soon.
This is going to stink for a long time.
Jeter and his new ownership group are to blame.
So is MLB commish Rob Manfred for allowing it to happen.
And blame Jeffrey Loria. Always blame Loria.
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David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 305.area.com and can be heard Tuesdays 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game Orlando (and can be heard anywhere on iHeartRadio).
