Jeter, Denbo team up to try to lead a turnaround

JUPITER, FLA. — There were a few whiffs before Gary Denbo and Derek Jeter really connected.

The friendship dates to 1992, when Denbo was managing the Single-A Gulf Coast League Yankees in Tampa, and an 18-year-old Jeter showed up for his anticipated professional debut. It went badly.

“A really rough day at the plate,” Denbo recalls with a chuckle. Jeter was unfazed. “The next day,” Denbo says, “he came out with a smile and was the first one in the batting cage, like he was the most confident human on the face of the earth. And he did that for the next 20 years.”

A bond between the two Yankees soon formed as Denbo became Jeter’s mentor. Now they have changed teams and returned to Florida, where they’re trying to lead the Miami Marlins out of the baseball wilderness.

Shortly after Jeter’s ownership group bought the Marlins in late 2017, he hired Denbo as vice president of scouting and player development. Denbo had spent 23 years with the Yankees in three stints, and in 201517 he oversaw a farm system that ranked among the best.

In Miami, Denbo has led a transformation of the player development and amateur scouting departments while leaving his imprint on everything from hirings and player personnel moves to the design of the hallways. “It takes a little time when you talk about changing the culture of an organization, and Gary has done it,” Jeter says.

Manager Don Mattingly says Denbo has implemented Jeter’s plan in a way that has all departments unified in their goals and approach — rarer in the big leagues than it might seem. “A lot of places talk about it, but this is the first time for me that you can actually feel it,” says Mattingly, who broke into the majors in 1982. He recalls the Yankees’ Tampa and New York offices often working at cross-purposes when he played for them. “This is my first experience where you feel like we’re all connected and working toward a common goal — a consistent, sustainable organization that is going to be great.”

The ultimate verdict regarding player acquisition and development under Denbo will be delivered in the won-loss record, and in that area he’s confident the Marlins are headed in the right direction. The Marlins went 63-98 in the first year of the new regime, and this season they’re widely projected to finish below .500 for the 10th consecutive year. But the farm system’s deeper and more athletic than 18 months ago, partly thanks to prospects acquired by trading All-Stars Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon and, most recently, J.T. Realmuto.

Among the prospects acquired were outfielder Monte Harrison and shortstop Isan Diaz, both expected to reach the majors soon. Denbo believes the Marlins hit it big in the 2018 amateur draft, when they took outfielder Connor Scott, shortstop Osiris Johnson, catcher Will Banfield and outfielder Tristan Pompey among the first 90 picks.

“I feel as good about that group as any time during all my years with the Yankee organization with our top picks,” Denbo says.

Denbo has also led a push for better results on the international market, and in October the Marlins signed Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, baseball’s top international prospect.