The Miami Marlins plan to reduce their payroll to around $90 million, according to a report by the Miami Herald.
While that number may seem high at first glance, it would mean trimming roughly $50 million in 2018 salary commitments. With that much money to shed, Miami will likely need to dump multiple key players over the off-season. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton is among those who could depart the team.
While the final payroll number could change, a reduction at this point seems to be a foregone conclusion. In his introductory press conference, CEO Derek Jeter referenced the need to rebuild the organization. Moving higher salary players for prospects would be a big step in that direction. Ultimately, Miami's return in the trades would depend on how much salary it sends with the outgoing players.
Stanton has a no-trade clause, but he is owed $25 million in 2018 and another $270 million after that. That kind of obligation will likely make it difficult for the new ownership group to keep Stanton in town. In addition to his high salary, Stanton has gone on record with his disappointment over a potential rebuild. Seeing his teammates exit could force Stanton's hand on a no-trade waiving decision.
In addition to Stanton, the Marlins may need to say goodbye to players such as Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon. Since several higher paid players have relatively immovable contracts, Miami would need to deal some coveted assets to reduce payroll further. Due to injuries or lack of production, the Marlins would be hard-pressed to find takers for Wei-Yin Chen, Junichi Tazawa and Edinson Volquez. Including a player such as J.T. Realmuto may be the only outlet for dumping one of those contracts at this point.
It remains to be seen how the local fanbase will react to trades that are designed to reduce payroll. Former owner Jeffrey Loria was unpopular in the community and it was largely due to his lack of spending at times. Miami has sat in the bottom half of Major League payrolls for a number of seasons and has not reached the playoffs since 2003. That drought is the longest currently in the National League.
Even though the Marlins stayed in the Wild-Card hunt this season, they were over-matched often during the schedule. A lack of starting pitching made things tough for Miami at times, but a potent lineup kept it afloat. Some of that lineup could now end up scattered around the league.
