Miami Marlins Superstar Trade Leads to Jeter Criticism, World Series Odds Drop

Posted on: December 21, 2017, 04:00h.

Last updated on: December 21, 2017, 03:24h.

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As beloved as former New York Yankees Derek Jeter was as a player, he is becoming quickly vilified as one of the owners of the Miami Marlins.

The 43 year old has made some controversial trades in the two months since he took over baseball operations and approximately 200 fans let him know about it at a town hall meeting on Tuesday.

People in the audience peppered the former All-Star shortstop demanding to know if they were in the midst of a fire sale after he traded several high-profile players, including Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton.

“I can’t sit here and say ‘trust me,’” he said. “You don’t know me. You earn trust over time. I know how organizations are sustainable over time. I know you have been through a lot. I can’t relate to it. It’s going to be a tough road. It’s going to take time and effort.”

Honeymoon Over

That didn’t sit well with the crowd and it definitely didn’t win over sports books. The Marlins opened at 80-1 to win next year’s World Series, but recently were dropped down to 100-1 by Bovada.

The one player Jeter unloaded that irked fans was last year’s National League MVP Stanton to his former club the New York Yankees. With that acquisition the Bronx Bombers vaulted over the Dodgers to take over the top spot to win the Fall Classic.

The Dodgers, who lost the World Series to the Houston Astros, was the 5-1 selection to win it in 2018. Cleveland and Houston were at 6-1 and Washington was at 7-1 with New York at 8-1.

After the Stanton trade, however, the Yankees jumped to 5-1, followed by Houston and LA at 6-1.

Rookie Mistakes

The future Hall of Famer is finding working off the field a lot more difficult than when he was on it. Fans were quick to point out at the 90-minute meeting their skepticism that he is leading the Marlins in the right direction.

Jeter is part of a group of businessmen that bought the Miami Marlins in October for $1.2 billion from former owner Jeffrey Loria. The 76 year old was famous for trading away stars rather than pay large salaries. The Marlins endured eight consecutive losing seasons and attendance was one of the lowest in the Major Leagues.

Jeter, who was named CEO of the club and took over day-to-day operations, began his tenure as an executive by following the same exact business plan as Loria. When he and majority owner Bruce Sherman met the media Oct. 3, a day after the sale was finalized, the five-time World Series winner pleaded with fans to give them a chance.