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More bread crumbs are emerging about why Derek Jeter left his CEO role with the Florida Marlins.
CC Sabathia, who played with Jeter on the Yankees from 2009 through 2014, spoke about his former teammate’s swift exit from the Marlins on his “R2C2” podcast with Ryan Ruocco.
Jeter, according to Sabathia, badly wanted the franchise to make a push to sign free agent Nick Castellanos, but apparently could not get them to pony up the cash.
“[Castellanos] is a beast,” Sabathia said, according to Audacy Sports. “I know Jeter wanted him bad.
“The Marlins are the Marlins,” the ex-pitcher added. “No matter what you try to do to make them better, at the end of the day there’s just always been bad ownership. Jeter did everything he could, he lined everything up for him and this is the year you sign Castellanos. They’ve got a bunch of pitching, Jazz Chisholm is a star, you’ve got Miguel Rojas playing short. Seems good, like really good, he built a really good team. The minor league organization is great, but it’s just time to spend money.”
Sabathia continued to say that Jeter was angry about the ordeal.
“I just feel bad for him because I know how much time he put into that and how serious he took that job and I know he’s pissed,” he said. “Yeah, it sucks, but the Marlins are the Marlins.”
Last month, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported that Jeter had a power struggle with Marlins owner Bruce Sherman after Sherman allegedly reneged on an agreement to add $10-15 million in payroll after the MLB lockout concluded.
Castellanos, who batted .309 with 34 home runs and a .939 OPS last season, could wind up signing for more than $15 million annually, but it’s easy to see why he’s a player Jeter would have wanted on the Marlins.
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