The Miami Marlins aren’t sweating potential trouble from the players’ union over how they’re spending their revenue-sharing money. According to the Miami Herald, the team feels confident they could defend themselves if challenged.
Here’s the situation: The Marlins are getting about $70 million in revenue-sharing funds from MLB but plan to start the season with a payroll of just $86 million.
That’s a problem.
Teams are supposed to spend 150% of what they receive in revenue sharing, which means the Marlins should have a payroll around $105 million.
The Major League Baseball Players Association can’t file a grievance until after the season ends. Even then, these cases drag on forever – the union’s similar complaints against the Marlins from 2017 and 2018 are still unresolved.
The Marlins argue they’re following the spirit of the rules, which require spending “in an effort to improve performance on the field,” even if they’re not putting that money directly into player salaries.
“We made a significant investment, not only in the front office staff in technology, but we’ve also done a tremendous amount to improve the ability of the players to perform,” owner Bruce Sherman told the Herald last month.
Sherman points to facility improvements as proof they’re investing in the team.
“We’re putting a tremendous amount of resources in loanDepot. You haven’t seen any of this, but we’re going to have the second-biggest weight training facility in all of baseball for our players. Our training doesn’t stop at the major league level. We’ve added levels into the organization that we’ve never had before.”
The reality on the field tells a different story.
The Marlins are expected to start the season with just one player making more than $5 million – pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who many expect will be traded before the deadline.
