Jeter confirms Marlins looking to trade Stanton

Now a rookie executive instead of a veteran player, Derek Jeter arrived for his first major league owners’ meeting and said the Miami Marlins are listening to trade offers for slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

Jeter became the Marlins’ chief executive officer when a group headed by venture capitalist Bruce Sherman bought the team Oct. 2 from Jeffrey Loria. The former New York Yankees captain, a fivetime World Series champion, said Miami needed to turn around both on and off the field. Payroll will be cut, and Stanton could be dealt after hitting 59 home runs — the highest total in the major leagues since 2001.

“We’re exploring options, what opportunities are there,” Jeter said Wednesday. “We’re listening. Teams haven’t only reached out about Stanton. They’ve reached out about a lot of our players, which says a lot about the players in our organization.”

Stanton a 28-year-old outfielder, is guaranteed $295 million over the remaining decade of his record 13-year contract. He will earn $25 million next season and has a full notrade provision, giving him power to control any deal.

“There are some financial things we have to get in order,” Jeter said. “It’s an organization that’s been losing money for quite some time, so we have to turn that around. How we do that, it’s not clear. Yeah, I think it’s easy to point the finger at him because he makes the most money, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s the move that’s going to be made.”

A 14-time All-Star over 20 big league seasons in a playing career that ended three years ago, Jeter swapped his Yankees pinstripes for a blue-gray business suit, white shirt without a necktie and black cap-toe shoes. He never played on a team with a losing record during 23 professional seasons, so the Marlins have a tradition he is unacquainted with.

“The team hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2003 and haven’t had a winning season since ’09. So that’s unacceptable,” he said. “It’s unacceptable to the ownership group. It’s unacceptable to the fan base. So yes, it will take time. But every team has to go through a period where they have to build, and we’re in that position right now.”

Miami had a $116 million payroll on Aug. 31, up from $81 million at the end of last year. In the prime of his career, Stanton would prefer to be on a winning team.

“I think a lot of this started when he came out and expressed publicly that he didn’t want to be a part of a rebuild,” Jeter said.