Derek Jeter Would Face Problems, and Possibilities, as a Baseball Owner

Derek Jeter may be a sure shot to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, a capstone to his sterling 20-year career with the Yankees in which nearly everything seemed to go right, with five World Series titles. But his new job running the Miami Marlins may be a lot harder than hitting a fastball or turning a double play.

Jeter is part of a group of investors that, pending approval from Major League Baseball, will buy the Marlins for an estimated $1.2 billion from Jeffrey Loria, and Jeter is expected to run the team. The Marlins, though, have a host of problems that could stymie any quick turnaround. Here are partial lists, in no particular order, of some of the challenges, as well as some of the advantages, that Jeter will have in Miami:

Challenges

1. The Marlins’ minor league system has been at, or near, the bottom of several rankings in the past year. Jeter will need to rebuild the farm system to ensure a pipeline of talent in the years to come.

2. When Loria has signed established stars, the contracts have been structured so that most of the money would be paid in later years. Loria often traded those players, like Carlos Delgado, who was dealt to the Mets after receiving $4 million in 2005, the first year of a four-year, $52 million contract. The one major exception has been the team’s slugger Giancarlo Stanton. After making $14.5 million this year, Stanton will receive almost $300 million through 2027. Unless another team takes Stanton and his contract, Jeter will have less room to sign free agents without drastically expanding the Marlins’ payroll.

3. The Marlins are still trying to replace Jose Fernandez, the star pitcher who died last year in a boating accident. Fernandez was more than just an ace: He was an immensely popular Cuban exile with an infectious smile to go with a dastardly slider.

4. Fernandez’s absence is just one reason attendance has slipped nearly 3 percent this season. For much of their time under Loria’s leadership, the Marlins have struggled to draw fans. Even since they moved into a new stadium with a retractable roof in the Little Havana neighborhood in 2012, fans stayed away. Jeter will have to convince skeptical Miami sports fans that he can build a winner.

5. Some Marlins fans are at home watching television, but the team does not benefit as much as it could because its local cable deal with Fox Sports is among the least lucrative in baseball. Jeter could try to renegotiate the deal, or, if he can persuade the N.B.A.’s Miami Heat or the N.H.L.’s Florida Panthers to join him, he could start a regional sports network that could potentially bring in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Opportunities

1. Jeter and his fellow owners can start recouping some of their investment by selling the naming rights to Marlins Park. Other teams, including the Mets, have persuaded Fortune 500 companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for the right to place their names on stadiums or arenas.

2. Jeter’s group will benefit from an immensely favorable stadium deal. Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami paid for most of the construction of the stadium, yet the Marlins keep most of the game-day revenue.

3. The Marlins have also been longtime beneficiaries of M.L.B. revenue sharing. Wealthier teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox have complained that the Marlins did not use that income to sign new players, as the revenue-sharing program stipulated. Jeter could take advantage of the extra income to sign a few players.

4. Jeter, who is widely admired around baseball, may be able to persuade skeptical free agents to sign with the Marlins and even take a small discount below their market values if they believe the team is destined for success.

5. While all team executives are under pressure to put a winner on the field, Jeter would enjoy at least a short honeymoon, if only because many fans will be happy that Loria, one of the most unpopular owners in baseball, has departed.