Derek Jeter took over as the Miami Marlins‘ CEO in August 2017, and found himself on a team looking to shed some pricey contracts.
Among those players was Giancarlo Stanton, a top slugger who was age 27 back then and was three seasons deep in a 13-year, $325 million contract.
In 2017, Stanton had hit .281/.376/.631 with 59 home runs, 123 runs, and 132 RBI.
He wanted to be traded, and as the owner of a no-trade clause, he only suggested four teams he would waive his no-trade protection for.
In other words, he took Jeter and the Marlins away all their leverage.
Jeter ended up trading Stanton to the Yankees in exchange for second baseman Starlin Castro and prospects Jose Devers and Jorge Guzman.
Additionally, the Marlins kicked in $30 million to help the Yankees stay under the luxury tax threshold.
It was a sweet deal for the Yankees.
Jeter’s Hands Were Tied
Many people say Jeter handed Stanton to the Yankees, but to be fair, his hands were tied because he wanted to go and only accepted four teams, two of which just couldn’t afford Stanton’s deal.
In the end, Stanton got his wish and was traded to the Yankees.
Fires everyone in the front office, sends Giancarlo Stanton to his former team, leaves pic.twitter.com/TRPLOZeWvv
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) February 28, 2022
Other stars were traded by Jeter, too, such as Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto.
Jeter conceded, after stepping down as the team’s CEO, that he didn’t share the same vision of the future than the rest of the ownership board, suggesting the franchise isn’t really looking to spend too much and will just continue to wait until the stars align for them to pursue the postseason with all their resources.
They do have an interesting group of prospects, a lot of which resulted of the trades Jeter executed or approved.
The Stanton deal, however, will not be his finest memory.
NEXT: MLB World Reacts To Derek Jeter's Hasty Departure