Miami Marlins offseason: An embarrassment of debts

After vetoing trades to the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals,  Giancarlo Stanton appears to be heading to the New York Yankees.

The Miami Marlins hot stove offseason kicked off with the trade of Dee Gordon. That was the sounding horn that the rebuild was officially underway. Was it a message to Giancarlo Stanton? Probably. But he responded with defiance; his contractual right.

He quickly vetoed trades that would have sent him to play for the Giants and the Cardinals. Shortly after that, rumors began to circulate that the Marlins and Yankees were working on a trade. Now the only thing that appears capable of derailing a trade is if the Los Angeles Dodgers get involved.

It’s still not entirely clear what the Marlins are getting back in the Stanton trade, but whatever it is, Miami baseball fans are going to be pissed.

There is a belief that the Marlins aren’t getting back any of the New York Yankees top-tier, near-MLB ready prospects.

Gary Denbo, the Miami Marlins new director of Player Development has an in-depth understanding of the Yankees minor leagues system. Having worked in the same capacity for the Yankees, he’s believed to have hand-picked the players from the Yankees system.

But what the Miami Marlins are really trading away is debt. Everyone was aware of the fact that Derek Jeter would be cutting payroll as soon as he stepped through the door. But now that it’s actually happening, the public is up in arms.

There seems to be a split between what everyone knows needed to be done, and what everyone hoped would happen. Everyone knew the Marlins needed to rebuild. Everyone hoped that Jeter and Bruce Sherman would bury themselves in debt and try to win with the team as-is.

But the Miami Marlins team that Jeter ad Co. acquired wasn’t sustainable.

Miami Marlins still won’t be done

While Giancarlo Stanton is the biggest name that the Miami Marlins are going to move, he won’t be the last. Marcell Ozuna could be on the move as well. For now, it appears Christian Yelich is safe, but don’t hang your hat on it.

The team desperately wants to move Martin Prado, and if moving Christian Yelich is the only way to make that happen, they’ll pull the trigger. The sell-off is on in full effect. Buckle in, it’s going to be a volatile ride.