Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has taken over most the baseball decision-making for his club, creating a rift in the upper echelons of the front office, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald:
Jeffrey Loria making all baseball decisions for Marlins front office
Baseball’s biggest villain is now drawing the ire of his own front office by usurping their responsibilities.
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“He has marginalized the front office,” said a major-league source, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. “The front office isn’t making decisions. Loria makes them all.”
Loria has reportedly stepped in on even the most mundane of roster decisions, vetoing moves that would have sent marginal players (e.g. Chris Valaika and Rob Brantly) back and forth between the majors and minors. The source added that "there's not one decision he doesn't do."
Loria’s meddling has clouded the futures of baseball operations president Larry Beinfest and team president David Samson. The pair could be out of a job at the end of the year if the speculation surrounding them comes to fruition.
Rumors of impending doom have swirled around Beinfest for more than a year now, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the long-time Marlins exec is “miserable.” Beinfest, who is under contract through 2015, reportedly confronted Loria last week about making a decision on his status, but the owner has (so far) done nothing. Rosenthal’s sources indicate that Samson is also “on the outs” with Loria -- his stepdad -- though a second source told Spencer that Samson’s job is “not in jeopardy.”
Spencer's revelations about Loria's far-reaching grasp are not entirely out of the blue. There have been grumblings about Loria toying with personnel decisions since the beginning of the year. In April, it was rumored that Loria swapped out veteran Ricky Nolasco in favor of rookie Jose Fernandez for the first game of a day/night double-header just hours before the first pitch, causing an already disgruntled Nolasco to gruntle some more.
The Marlins have declined to speak on the matter, stating that the club’s official policy is not to discuss personnel matters during the season.
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