March Madness is upon us. If Middle Tennessee State University has taught us anything about sports, it is that you should expect the unexpected. This, of course, is a lie if you are talking about the Miami Marlins front office. You can always expect something fishy going on behind the scenes.
This time, however, the turmoil has involved someone who is no longer employed within the Marlins system.
The Marlins filed a grievance against former general manager and interim manager Dan Jennings over his salary with the Washington Nationals, his current employer.
According to the Miami Herald, this is the scoop that has the Marlins miffed:
“The Marlins owe Dan Jennings the difference between his new salary and the $1.5 million they would have paid him this season if he hadn’t been fired. And the Marlins are fuming, and filed a grievance, because they’ve been told Washington is paying Jennings only $100,000 as a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo, which they believe is well below a salary commensurate with his responsibilities.”
By doing the math, the Nationals are only paying him 6.67% of the $1.5 million salary. So the Marlins have to pay the remaining percentage, which is currently tagged at $1.4 million. Yikes.
There are risks that teams take when it comes to money, and it seems like the Marlins may be taking questionable ones. Jennings had left his position as general manager to become the interim manager after Mike Redmond had been fired last season.
The Marlins went 55-69 with Jennings at the helm. Jennings could have returned to his post as general manager or voluntarily looked for a better place for employment and not have it affect the Marlins.
By firing him, however, the Marlins are committed to paying him a certain sum of money. Other teams could hire them and pay a small percentage amount of the contract that the Marlins created. Of course, the Nationals took advantage of signing a big name in baseball management at a low cost.
The only question is if the Nationals, who are bracing for a massive contract to Bryce Harper in the near future, are crossing the line when it comes to saving money.
At least the Marlins are in a better position with their coaching. Dan Jennings is not an expert manager, but he was a bridge to a better staff. Don Mattingly, who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers in becoming a consistent playoff team and NL West champion, should make a better replacement.
Things could be even better if Barry Bonds’ performance on the field (I get that PEDs may have been involved) can translate towards being an offensive leader and helping the Miami bats.
Just do not expect the Marlins and Nationals to be let their money go very easily.