Posada excited to mentor young team
Former Yankee to help develop catchers as special adviser
JUPITER — Standing underneath the first-base dugout of the Marlins’ Jupiter practice facility was a sight that would cause most New York fans to double take — revered Yankee greats Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada in full Miami gear.
Less than a week after being hired as a special adviser to baseball operations, Posada was on hand Monday morning for the first day of full-squad workouts.
A five-time World Series champion, Posada played his entire 17-year career in New York — all with Jeter — as the team’s All-Star catcher. After retiring in 2011 and moving to Miami, Posada took some time off from baseball as his kids grew up. But with his oldest son now at the University of Miami and his daughter in high school, the 47-year-old was ready to get back in the game.
“[It was] just perfect timing,” Posada said. “Derek approached me sometime in January and said, ‘Do you want to get back in the game?’ I said ‘Yeah.’
“I do want to get back in the game and help out. I want to be part of this organization moving forward and I’m looking forward to things that I want to do — be there with the kids and the big-leaguers. Moving around, but more [helping with] minorleague players.”
Dating back to their playing days, Jeter and Posada have developed a tightknit relationship over the past two decades. In addition to baseball, Jeter served Posada’s best man during his wedding.
Now serving as the Marlins CEO, Jeter jumped on the opportunity to bring Posada on board.
“[Posada] is going to add a lot of value to our playerdevelopment system,” Jeter said. “He’s been with [VP of player development and scouting] Gary [Denbo] for a long time. We look forward to him having the opportunity to share some of his experiences with the young guys we have coming up.
“I’m coming from an organization that valued explayers and I was always a sponge for knowledge when I was younger and I want to bring that same vibe to that organization.”
As special adviser, Posada will fill a jack-of-all-trades with the Marlins. The role is loosely defined, meaning he can help out in the front office or on the field. President of baseball operations Michael Hill says he expects the 47-year-old to fill a variety of roles.
“I think special adviser role is pretty open in terms of how you utilize the strengths of that individual and I would check all of the above box as it pertains to Jorge,” Hill said.
“We’re going to use him in every way possible within the organization. [Whether] it’s on the field — we do a number of classroom sessions in the clubhouse preand post-workout. Wherever we get the opportunity to have him impact our players, we’ll try to take advantage of that.”
With 17 years of MLB catching experience, Posada can also serve as a valuable mentor for catchers in the organization. Newly acquired backstop Jorge Alfaro is just 25 years old and could benefit from Posada’s vast experience. The former Phillies catcher is coming off his first MLB season and is brimming with potential. The Marlins also have highly touted catcher Will Banfield in the organization, who Miami selected last season with the 69th overall pick in the MLB Draft.
“[Posada’s] a champion and shows up with multiple rings to his credit,” Hill said. “Any experience and knowledge he can share with our people will be invaluable.
“We have a young catcher who is growing in the big leagues with [Jorge] Alfaro. I think he’ll be a tremendous asset for him and for some of our top prospects – the Will Banfields and the Nick Fortes of the world and a tremendous asset for our young catchers.”