The Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter group that has submitted the winning bid to purchase the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria now has its finances “in better shape” and could secure the league approval that it requires in a matter of weeks, if not days, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports. The Sherman-Jeter group has raised $800MM of the $1.2 billion sale price and will take on $400MM of debt as things presently stand. Sherman will be the control person and own 46 percent of the team, while Jeter’s title will be CEO, and he’ll own about four percent of the team. While the sale of the franchise has been a seemingly interminable process, it appears that the new ownership group could formally be in place before the conclusion of the postseason. Sherman and Jeter will need approval from 23 of the 29 other owners throughout the league
More from the division…
- CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury profiles Phillies left-hander Adam Morgan and his rise to prominence in the Philadelphia bullpen in 2017. Morgan explains to Salisbury that he nearly retired from baseball early in the year, having gone through difficulty recovering from shoulder surgery and again being optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. “I’m such a simple guy that it’s the little things that make me happy,” said Morgan. “Being with my family makes me happy, cutting the grass makes me happy. I’d think to myself, ’Why am I showing up to the field and I’m not happy?” Morgan ultimately decided to finish the year. Along the way, his velocity returned, and he altered the grip on his slider to dramatically improve the pitch’s effectiveness. Over his past 24 innings, Morgan has averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball and allowed just two runs with a 28-to-4 K/BB ratio. Salisbury’s column is full of candid, thoughtful quotes from Morgan and is an excellent look at the human side of the game.
- Jace Peterson is now focusing on improving in the outfield so that he can become a versatile utility piece of the Braves for years to come, writes MLB.com’s Chris Bumbaca. While there may have been hope that he could fill an everyday role shortly after Peterson was acquired from the Padres in the Justin Upton deal, both Peterson and Braves skipper Brian Snitker agree that his long-term role is likely an oft-used, defensively versatile bench piece and pinch-hitter. The 27-year-old Peterson is hitting .219/.315/.326 this year and has seen at least 50 innings at second base, third base, first base and in left field (plus 34 innings at short and a few short cameos in center and right).
This is no disrespect of Jeter. He’s done a great job in managing the purchase of the Marlins.
But here we go again. It’s the in debt and really never getting out of debt Frank McCourt days again.
Come on owners. Vote this sale down until you can get one company or owner with the deep pockets to never having to depend on a “group “scraping and scratching for funds.
Hold on Marlins fans. There is a savior out there.
It’s exceedingly rare for any business transaction even close to this size NOT to involve lots of financing. Most of the nutty billionaire style “traditional” owners bought in to the game long, long before team values were what they are now.
^
I think you’re missing the point behind greatdaysport’s post. While most business transactions, especially the buying of sports teams, includes significant amounts of debt financing—not everyone is Steve Balmer who can write a $2 billion check without batting an eye—but it’s more about the team debt. The Sherman/Jeter partnership is likely borrowing significant money from banks to have enough cash to cover the $800M they’re giving Loria, but on top of that they are also assuming $400M in debt that the club already has. That’s the issue, and what led to the McCourt fiasco.
Based on everything that’s been published, this group’s purchase of the Marlins is going to be a disaster. They are coming in carrying a huge burden, to a club that has limited revenue and a weak fan base. It sets it up for a huge failure, and MLB should reject the sale, but with golden boy Jeter in the mix it’s likely to get approved. At least I’m not a Marlins fan.
What really soured me on this deal was when the story broke that Jeter plans on paying himself $5 million a year in salary to offset the $25 million he is putting in as a down payment. It’s called ownership. If your business turns a profit then you can take a salary. He plans on taking that salary while he is cutting payroll. $5 million a year is a back of the rotation starter or a decent reliever and the Marlins are short on both. I think the McCourt comparison is spot on.
That’s exactly it: MLB wants Jeter involved, so Marlins fans pay the price once again with payroll slashing. And say what you want about Loria, but he never put someone in charge of baseball ops who had no front office experience. I see no evidence to suggest that Jeter will be good at this, and the worst case scenario is a Dave Stewartesque nightmare of valuing clutchitude and winningness over baseball-relevant factors.
How about any evidence he will be bad at it?
They are also assuming 400 million in current debt and losing 50 million a year.
As a braves fan, I think it’s time to let go of Jace Peterson. I understand he has had moments of really good baseball… and we keep holding on to him hoping he will bounce back to that. But i don’t think he’s even that great of a backup. There was a day when I felt like he would give us a chance every time he was at the place, but now I feel like he’s an automatic out.
You have to remember he has been learning new positions and dealing with not being an everyday player…it takes a different mindset to be a bench player. I think there is still room for him to become a very versatile player and a value to the Braves, if he can learn to handle the bench role!
I mean, i get it. But learning a new position(s) isn’t really an excuse to not be able to hit. I’ve played baseball through college and I’ve never met one person who couldn’t perform because he was learning to play a new position. I would say not being an everyday player prob hurts… getting consistent AB’s is definitely an adjustment. But in petersons case, again not much of an excuse cause he’s kinda been in and out as an everyday player for a while now, and if he’s not getting AB’s in the majors, they send him down to AAA where he typically plays every day. Sure the comp is different, but idk. I think we’ve seen enough to know he is what he is. he’s an ok bench piece that can play all over the field, but he’s not an everyday player… even if someone is out for a good amt of time, he’s not an everyday player.
And the thing is, if you can’t really hit as an every day player, that’s prob gonna translate as a bench piece… so his glove work really need to shine for him to be around. Honestly, If I’m him… I might throw on some catching gear and see if he can handle that as 2nd backup for the team. There is a lot of value in that. That’s just my opinion.. heard it during the game the other night and it makes sense. He’s athletic enough to do it.
Jace Peterson is a frustrating player to me. He seems on the surface to be very athletic and has been given opportunities, but has never taken advantage of them. He seems to every season have some rock bottom months and other months are red hot. This season he hit .180 pre all-star break and .304 since. You’ll also seem Jace make some great plays then totally boot an easy chance because he doesn’t follow the ball all the way to the glove but gets over eager in anticipation of throwing the ball (this has happened multiple times in both the infield and the outfield).
He is better than Kemp in the outfield though, but far from perfect as evidenced by how he played the game winning hit last night by the Mets (and I’m not saying with 100% certainty that he possessed the ability to catch it, only that it wasn’t played optimally). Jace was playing more shallow than normal, as we’re the other outfielders, in order to have a better chance to throw out the runner on a base hit in front of him. The ball was hit over his right shoulder a bit more towards the line than he was and hooking away from him. Jace initially dropped back with his left foot (the wrong one) and then adjusted his route as he better realized the flight of the ball. It would have been an extremely difficult play (my observation without Statcast data to back up my opinion) but I can’t help but wonder if a more experienced outfielder with comparable speed would have had a better chance at it by starting off dropping back the opposite way and running a more efficient route.
The only thing consistent about Jace has been his ability to draw walks. I’m just not convinced that the Braves keep him on the roster for 2018, especially since he is out of options.
I am with Bravesfan on this one. His hitting ability actually got worse when we tried to play him more. He has fast hands, but he needs instruction. It almost looks like he is being coached to never strike out and just focus on contact. That might work in Little League ball where fielding is more suspect, but this is the Majors. Weak tappers and rollovers don’t cut it. He will have to focus on one spot in the zone, and one pitch, then maybe broaden from there. Right now he can hit everything near the plate, but with no force. That must change.
I am hoping he gets some good off-season coaching.
There’s only so many roster spots, allowing Peterson the room to learn his craft in limited playing time is on him at 27 y/o. Johan Camargo has done it just fine, and it’s getting him more playing time and possibly a starting position consideration. With these utility players, the bat must be constant, or they better be a gold-glover – Peterson is neither of those. At 27, I wonder if 2016 was a flash in the pan, or if 2017 was. Either way, it’s on him to perform. He should have a long leash because he gives us options and he’s cheap, not to mention he was a part of one of Coppy’s first trades (J-Up) and it’ll look bad on him if he releases him.
I’m not sure how bad it will make Coppy look if Jace has lived out his usefulness in Atlanta. Don’t forget that in the deal that sent one year of Justin Upton to the Padres the Braves received Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson (who had tons of promise until a broken bone sapped his power in AAA this season), Max Fried (who debuted in Atlanta this year) and Mallex Smith (who contributed in 2016 and was dealt to Seattle as part of the package for Luiz Gohara). In my opinion that trade is still giving benefits to the Braves.
Oh and I forgot the Braves received international bonus slot money too.
Camargo’s numbers are a little misleading. His OBP is only slightly better than Swanson and Peterson. He has hit for more pop, but his swing at everything approach will likely produce worse numbers down the line. His .360 BABIP would put at sixth in MLB for qualified players. That ain’t going to continue. While I do believe BABIP is affected by how you are putting the balls in play, it’s rare to continue at that pace.
He has gotten off to a great start though, but it just doesn’t match his minors track record.
Right!
Although Bruce Sherman may or may not be an upgrade of Jeffrey Loria, Sherman stated that in a couple years, he plans on turning the ownership over to his children.. Does that mean Sherman intends to “flip it”?
I hope this sale doesn’t go through for all the reasons greatdaysport posted as well as that I don’t think Sherman is anywhere near an ideal owner. either. He is another person who made money off other’s vs on his own.
Good to see some press on Morgan. I have been a massive critic/hater, sounding the alarm to cut him on several occasions. I’m glad the team stuck with him and made me eat those words. Does Klentak give him a shot to start again next spring? His slider improvement would make him a more effective starter than he has been. Then again, there is something to be said for controlling a lock down lefty in the pen. Keep it up, Adam!
I recall ur hatred for Morgan and I echoed the calls but he has really improved. That said, he should NEVER BE ALLOWED TO START ANOTHER MLB GAME. He is only good 1 time thru the order and will make a 10+ yr career for himself pitching as a reliever. I’m happy for him and the phils
Anyone else wish Jeter and Co. would ship the Marlins to Montreal and reinstate the Expos?
Braves should trade with Tigers………Sims,Wisler,Ruiz,Demeritte and Muller for Candelario,Moreno and Fulmer. Also include Kemp or Markakis if they will take them with $ included.
YOU FORGOT ACUNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!