Revealed: Reasons Behind Derek Jeter's Abrupt Exit From The Marlins

It was a bombshell announcement Monday morning—Miami Marlins CEO and part-owner Derek Jeter stepping down and divesting himself of the team completely. But why? The word was originally simply stated as a difference of "vision". 

Now MLB Insider Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that sources told him it came down to two issues that forced the Hall of Famer Jeter to walk away:

Heard Jeter believed going into the lockout that there would be another $10M-$15M that the Marlins would spend on the 2022 roster, and that strategy evaporated during the lockout. It was central to Jeter’s decsion to leave as CEO.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 28, 2022

1) Jeter went into the lockout believing that team chairman Bruce Sherman had approved an additional $10M-$15M to spend to upgrade the roster further; Jeter since learned that that was no longer the case. (how much they could really expect to get on the free agent market with 10 or 15 million to spend is another question entirely.)

2) Infighting between Jeter and Sherman as to who was really running things behind the scenes. There was "ego at play", as Joel Sherman put it. 

"(Bruce) Sherman was the main money man, yet (he) was obscured by Jeter as the face of the franchise."

Ultimately, the battle over his ability to spend, the breaking of that $15M promise, and the power struggle behind it all resulted in Jeter being "concerned about a clear path to winning," leading to his exit. 

A rumor earlier in the day surfaced about the Marlins having been in on talks with free agent and Miami-area native Nick Castellanos before the lockout. But the reasons behind Jeter's move would suggest that that is extremely unlikely to come to fruition.

Photo Credit: ALEX COOPER / OBSERVER-DISPATCH via Imagn Content Services, LLC