Report: MLB officials complained to ESPN after heated Manfred interview

After an interview between commissioner Rob Manfred and ESPN show host Dan Le Batard got a little heated, MLB officials complained to ESPN management, according to a report from Ryan Glasspiegel of USA TODAY Sports.

In an interview earlier this week on ESPN Radio, Le Batard got combative with Manfred over whether or not he had knowledge of the new ownership for the Miami Marlins planning to slash payroll so aggressively. Le Batard accused Manfred of lying about not knowing Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter's prospective plans, to wit the commissioner replied "I'm not going to sit here and have you call me a liar."

Following the interview, a report surfaced that suggested Manfred was, in fact, aware of the Marlins' plans to cut payroll by trading away their stars. All of this comes about directly as a result of Jeter holding a town hall about the state of the franchise for Marlins season-ticket holders.

ESPN spokesperson Ben Cafardo replied on behalf of executive vice president of programming and scheduling Burke Magnus, suggesting discussions frequently take place between the broadcaster and MLB in an effort to maintain a working relationship with a product they actively air on television, and try to cover objectively through journalism.

"We have a terrific relationship with Major League Baseball and we're in constant communication at all levels," Cafardo told Glasspiegel. "So it's not uncommon that we would discuss both issues and opportunities in the course of that communication."