Miami Marlins: Derek Jeter addresses Giancarlo Stanton rumors at GM meetings

Miami Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said he has yet to speak directly with superstar Giancarlo Stanton in regard to potential trade rumors upon addressing reporters at the general managers meetings on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla.

Jeter also said that it's not an absolute that Stanton will be wearing another team's jersey next season.

"If there's a reason to call, I'll call," Jeter said. "But at this point, there's no reason to call. I don't know how often the owner calls and talks to all the players on the team and shares his vision. I had a close relationship with Hal (Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees), but he didn't share his vision every single offseason.

"If you get into the practice of reaching out to every player every time there's a rumor, you'd be spending 95 percent of your time on the phone trying to dispel rumors. Michael Hill has been in contact with him. That's Michael's job. He's the president of baseball ops and he's spoken to him. So it's not like it's radio silence coming from the organization."

Stanton, who has a full no-trade clause, is due $295 million over the next 10 seasons with an opt-out clause after 2020.

The 28-year-old powerhouse led the majors in homers (59) and RBIs (132) last season and batted .281 in a career-high 159 games.

Impressive numbers to be certain, but Jeter still has to consider the whole picture with Stanton.

"There are some financial things we have to get in order," Jeter said. "That's the bottom line. It's an organization that's been losing money for quite some time, so we have to turn that around. How we do that is not clear. It's easy to point the finger at (Stanton) because he makes the most money, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's the move that's going to be made.

"I understand the assumptions. I do. But we have not come out publicly and said we are trading any particular player. I've been a player. You don't like to see your name constantly in the rumors that are going back and forth with every organization. You can drive yourself crazy. So we have not come out and pointed the finger specifically at any one player."

Jeter assumed control of the Marlins last month and reportedly plans to reduce the payroll from a franchise-record $115 million to about $90 million next season.

Miami finished second in the National League East last season with a 77-85 mark, albeit 20 games behind the first-place Washington Nationals.