Miami

Michael Hill Hopes Marlins Fans are ‘Educated Enough'

Michael Hill said he hopes fans are "educated enough" to understand the team's direction

Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said Thursday that he hopes Marlins fans are "educated enough" to understand the team's moves.

The quote from Hill came shortly after Miami finalized a salary slashing deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. In the trade, the Marlins received three obscure prospects in exchange for Mat Latos, Michael Morse and a highly sought after draft pick. 

The answer came in response to a question on how fans may interpret the trade. Historically, the Marlins franchise has made several deals where the motivation appeared to be salary reduction. This deal too appears to center around salary relief.

Fans took to Twitter quickly to react to the comments from Hill:

In dealing Latos and Morse, the Marlins were able to shed a significant part of this year's payroll as well as a piece of next year's. Morse had signed a lucrative two-year deal before the season while Latos is set to become a free-agent.

This deal follows a trade that sent Steve Cishek to St. Louis. In that deal, Miami was also able to slash money from the payroll. Much like Thursday's deal, the player that came back in the deal with St. Louis is unlikely to make much of an impact.

When a team includes significant cash in a trade, the return is usually greater in terms of talent. However if a team tries to shed as much payroll as possible, the returning package is unlikely to be productive in the future.

Miami has the third worst home attendance in baseball despite playing in one of the newest stadiums in the league. At an average of only 21,713 fans per game, the Marlins are only ahead of the Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Marlins will continue their disappointing season on Friday against the San Diego Padres.

Contact Us