Donnie: Jeter would make ‘good’ owner
With reports swirling this week that at least three separate groups may be bidding for the Marlins – one potential ownership group reportedly includes former Yankee captain Derek Jeter – Miami manager Don Mattingly walked the company line at Citi Field Friday when asked about Jeter possibly being his potential “Boss.”
That is, until it was suggested that Mattingly’s job might be safer if Jeter held the ownership reins.
“I don’t know about any of that,” Mattingly, the former Yankee player, said with a laugh. “Anything Derek wants to do, he’s gonna be good at.”
A Fox Business report Wednesday said that Jeter is part of a group that includes Wall Street veteran Gregory Fleming and the group has “expressed interest in bidding for” the Marlins. Sources have confirmed to the Daily News that current Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is looking to sell the team he bought in 2002 for $158 million.
“I can’t comment. I have to be true to the process,” Marlins president David Samson told The News Friday in the visiting clubhouse before the Marlins played the Mets in the series opener. “I think that what I said earlier, when spring started, is still true – there is potential for an offer to be accepted by Jeffrey (Loria), but I can’t talk about the process.”
In a February Forbes report, Samson was said to have a “handshake agreement” in place to sell the team to a prominent real estate developer. Samson said Friday that “there was a framework of a deal with Josh Kushner,” the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is a senior adviser in Trump’s cabinet. Forbes estimated in the report that the Marlins would be sold for $1.6 billion.
“That (framework of a deal) ended. After it ended, we became engaged with other groups that were interested,” said Samson.
For now, it is a wait-and-see scenario whether Jeter will make a successful bid for the Marlins, but at least one of his former Yankee teammates thinks the Captain should be a 21st-century Boss.
“Jeter definitely deserves to have a team — he’s worthy of that,” said Ichiro Suzuki.
TRAVIS HITS D’BENCH
On Thursday night, Travis d’Arnaud delivered the game-winning double in a 6-2 victory over the Braves. A day later, the Mets’ starting catcher was sent to the bench in favor of Rene Rivera for the series opener against the Marlins.
There were a variety of reasons for the lineup decision, as manager Terry Collins explained prior to Friday night’s 7-2 loss.
First and foremost, Zack Wheeler was making his first major league start since September 2014 after missing two full seasons because of Tommy John surgery, and Collins wanted to make sure the 26-year-old righthander felt “as comfortable as he can be out there.”
Collins is also weary of d’Arnaud’s injury history — he’s failed to play more than 75 games in either of the past two seasons. So keeping d’Arnaud “fresh” is a priority for the Mets’ skipper.
D’Arnaud pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth Friday and was robbed of a base hit up the middle.
AGELESS WONDER
Phil Regan, the Mets’ assistant minor league pitching coordinator, always dreamt of throwing pregame batting practice to the St. Lucie squad on his 80th birthday. The Mets took that dream one step further. The team flew Regan up to New York so the baseball lifer who played 13 major league seasons could throw pregame BP to the Mets. Regan turned 80 on Thursday.
YO GOES DEEP
In swirling winds and bitter temperatures, Yoenis Cespedes hit his first home run of the season Friday, a meaningless shot to left in the eighth. It was a silver lining in an otherwise ugly affair for the Mets.
“I’m telling you, he’s going to have a big year,” Collins said. “It’s cold for everybody right now, but this guy, he’s swinging the bat very good. He’s in great shape. …When the weather starts to get a little bit better, this guy’s going to be dynamic.”