Sherman And Bendix Underwhelm At Spring Press Conference

The Marlins owner and president of baseball operations left more questions than answers after meeting with the press

As the Marlins begin full-team workouts this week, the team’s owner, Bruce Sherman, and president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, met with the press Tuesday morning.

In a swarm of reporters, Sherman and Bendix were pressed with questions about attendance, this offseason’s lack of spending, expectations for the coming year and a lot more.

Now I am out here in San Francisco, so I was awoken to a flurry of tweets about the press conference this morning. I wish I could have been there, because from the clips you can feel the tension. Here are some of the top notes from their spring meeting with the press.

Attendance

Like it or not, attendance is always a hot-button topic when it comes to the Miami Marlins. People love to take jabs at the Fish for their poor attendance, the lowest of low-hanging fruit.

Last year over 1.1 million fans attended loanDepot Park for an average of 14,355 fans per game, both figures ranked 29th in Major League Baseball.

Unsurprisingly, that was the Marlins’ highest figure since Sherman bought the team after the 2017 season. The Fish made a full-season Postseason for the first time since 2003, and fans responded with large crowds towards the end of the season.

"First,” said Sherman, “I want to thank the fans. Attendance was up 29% last year. We still came out at the bottom of the league in attendance, but I'd like it to continue to grow and get better. I think fans should look at the product that we have on the field and see what we do and not just measure it by a soundbite here or there."

This comment seems benign enough. Until the subtle dig at the fact the team ranked second-to-last in attendance. Seemingly putting it on the fans by telling them to look at the product and ignore the noise? I do not think Marlins fans have a problem with the noise, I think the issue is the product on the field.

It is no coincidence the Marlins crossed the million fan mark for the first time since 2017 in the year they finally made the Postseason. If the Marlins win, fans in Miami will show up. They are dying for a product worth rooting for, but it is on Sherman and the front office to provide them with one.

That requires them to actually invest in the team, and raise the payroll to a competitive level. The Marlins’ $90.575 million payroll heading into 2024 ranks 26th in the league. It is also lower than the Marlins Opening Day payroll in 2023, which was $92.575 million. Miami has yet to sign a Major League free agent this offseason.

What product exactly should Marlins fans be looking at that would encourage them to buy tickets?

Quiet Offseason

Sherman was asked about what he said when he spoke to the ball club Tuesday morning, and said he told the club about ownership’s commitment to the season. However, in his answer he said “I know we’ve brought in some Minor League free agents, some Major League free agents…” I have written before about how that is just simply not true. Again, the Marlins HAVE NOT signed a single Major League free agent this offseason.

Sherman did acknowledge the lack of a big-name signing, but re-iterated ownership’s commitment to the club. When pressed about the message to fans despite the quiet offseason is when Sherman brought up the attendance numbers, and urged them to pay attention to the on-field product rather than the noise.

Many Marlins fans did not take kindly to Sherman’s response. They argue the best way to show commitment to the club is to invest it, and the best way to put butts in seats is by winning. How do you do that? Invest in the club, pump up the payroll a bit and add proven players to the club that fans get excited to see.

Of course, we know the Marlins are going in another direction and both Sherman and manager, Skip Schumacher, made points about that. In his opening statement, Sherman heralded what Bendix has done this offseason in building the team’s infrastructure.

“I’m especially thrilled with Peter [Bendix] bringing some expertise in drafting and player development,” said Sherman, “and making a very large commitment towards improving the front office and being best of breed. That includes every aspect of technology, every aspect of facilities.”

Sherman said the Marlins’ Jupiter facility will be torn down at the end of the year for “a number of very valid reasons.” The Marlins also previously announced the construction of a new development facility in the Dominican Republic.

These are all great things the team is in need of, but do not solve the bottom line right now. Nobody is going to come out to a Marlins game because they are getting a better weight room at their facility in Jupiter.

The good news is the Marlins seem aligned up and down the power structure, as Sherman, Bendix and Schumacher all echoed similar messages. Skip spoke to reporters today about what Bendix has brought to the organization, despite the dormant offseason.

"He knows what winning looks like and understands that it starts with a foundation in the Minor Leagues,” said Schumacher.

“I came up in [the St. Louis Cardinals] system,” continued the Marlins’ manager, “that develops a lot of really good big leaguers. And those guys have guys that come up through the system that have won together. That’s what we’re trying to achieve here.”

It is good to know the Marlins are all aligned on a vision of where they want to take the team down the road. The issue is, that is not going to get anybody fired up heading into a new season.

Extensions For Top Players

Another hot topic at Marlins camp has been possible extensions for some of the Marlins’ top players.

Luis Arráez will be a free agent after next season, and Jesús Luzardo is a guy many fans want to lock up before he gets more expensive. Getting him locked-up on a team-friendly deal would be a huge win for the franchise.

Earlier this week, Arráez told reports he has not been approached by Marlins’ executives about an extension, but would 100% be open to staying in Miami long term.

However, when asked about extensions for some of their top players, Bendix gave the press a big word salad.

“It's really a case-by-case situation,” Bendix said. "We have a lot of young talented players. So there's always going to be that discussion. And whenever there's questions about that, whenever it's something we're thinking about, that's what we're aiming for. It means we have a really talented player who wants to be here.”

When asked about Arráez’s comments from earlier in the week, Bendix once again served up a whole bunch of nothing.

“I love that he wants to stay here,” Bendix said. “I would much prefer players want to stay here than not. That's the kind of culture that we're building. And those conversations happen in due time. That's something that we're going to keep internal. But it's meaningful when you have really good players who want to be here.”

This stinks. As a fan, when you see your star player says he wants to stay, you want your team’s president of baseball operations to say they want to keep him. Luis Arráez won the batting title last year, the Marlins should be begging him to stay. When Bendix gives a non-answer, instead of claiming he hopes Arráez stays as well, of course the fans are going to be upset.

Marlins fans have watched star after star after star walk out the door when the time comes to pay the piper, and I think they fully expect Arráez to be the next one. Hopefully, Bendix and company will prove us wrong, but they have a long way to go before fans put their trust in them.

Today’s press conference did them no favors in establishing trust that they plan on investing in the on-field product any time soon.