Headlines

  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Astros To Promote Brice Matthews
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Reactions To Marlins’ Hiring Of Dan Jennings

By Jeff Todd | May 18, 2015 at 9:18pm CDT

The Marlins’ decision to fire manager Mike Redmond was, perhaps, not terribly surprising at this point given the team’s high expectations and lackadaisical start. But the club shocked many around the game by shifting GM Dan Jennings into the dugout to take his place. President of baseball operations Michael Hill said before the announcement that the club was looking for a “new voice” to help trigger a turnaround, and it turns out that his front office partner will attempt to do just that.

Here are some reactions from around the game:

  • It does not appear that the decision to turn to Jennings was made at the spur of the moment, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the club had discussed the possibility earlier in the year. Regardless, says Rosenthal, it is an “outrageous” decision that constitutes an “insult” to other qualified potential candidates. The veteran reporter’s strong words were based, in large part, on the club’s apparent decision not to interview any minority candidates.
  • Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria discussed the situation, including the so-called Selig Rule on consideration of minority candidates, with Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.) On that topic, Loria said that he had contacted commissioner Rob Manfred to explain that the situation required an immediate change, without a full hiring process. He also noted to Morosi that the organization had made numerous recent managerial hires of minorities, and would comply with the rule in full if another search occurs after the season.
  • Of course, it is far from a given that Jennings will step down after the year; as Loria noted, there is no interim tag on his new title. The controversial owner told Morosi that he is looking for “structure, accountability and energy” from the new skipper. He also rejected the notion that the hiring was a major surprise, saying: “I’m not a maverick.” Loria pointed to other recent hires of managers who did not have professional experience in such a role.
  • In earlier comments to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Loria did indicate that the club’s structure will be revisited after the season. “Dan still is going to be very much involved in trades and things,” he said. “We’ll internally figure out what will happen at the end of the year, but our hope is that it stays like it. The only difference is that our GM is now the manager. We just dropped the general.” Loria also said that he played a role in the process but did not personally dictate the move from Redmond to Jennings. But he left no doubt about how he felt regarding the team’s performance, using interesting language to drive home the point: “We’re supposed to be the Fish. The Marlins. We shouldn’t be the Flounders. A Marlin isn’t a flounder. We’ve got to get it going.”
  • There are plenty of questions about the hiring of Jennings, says Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, but he advocates maintaining an open mind. As he rightly notes, the game has already evolved greatly in how it allocates authority between the front office and field staff. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com explains, meanwhile, that Loria’s penchant for change makes a lengthy tenure for Jennings unlikely.
  • For Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link), this is a boom-or-bust move. Among other challenges, Jennings will take on the day-to-day spokesperson role occupied by the modern manager — a stressful undertaking — and could face added difficulties in gaining trust within the clubhouse. Pulling no punches, Olney’s colleague Jerry Crasnick argues that the move is ill-conceived, predicting a rough transition and wondering whether things will end well.
  • From my perspective, it seems that the last point from Olney, regarding the organization’s relationships with its players, could be precisely where the Marlins are focused with this gambit. Jennings is, as all of the above articles reference, an affable and universally respected figure around the game. But there will be no question amongst the team’s players that the front office is present at all times; to a greater or lesser extent, after all, each man on the roster owes his job to Jennings, and Loria acknowledges that the former GM will continue to have heavy input in higher-level decisionmaking. That does indeed seem to offer some prospect of significant tension; on the other hand, it very likely brings added urgency to players’ day-to-day efforts. The notion of a player needing to step up in a contract year is commonly cited as a motivating factor. Now, the Marlins stand to find out whether a similar (but perhaps more invasive) kind of pressure can help to drive performance.
Share 8 Retweet 24 Send via email0

Miami Marlins

Bruce Chen Announces Retirement
Main
NL East Notes: Gosselin, Kendrick, Billingsley, Lagares, Redmond
View Comments (11)
Post a Comment

11 Comments

  1. Jeff L From Miami

    10 years ago

    TLDR; I am assuming the reaction is overwhelmingly positive!

    Reply
    • Marlin-ano Primavera

      10 years ago

      Lol!!! That’s gotta be the reason.

      Reply
  2. Deelron

    10 years ago

    “We’re supposed to be the Fish. The Marlins. We shouldn’t be the Flounders. A Marlin isn’t a flounder.”

    He’s right, a flounder is delicious, the Marlins not so much.

    Reply
  3. Mikenmn

    10 years ago

    It’s Loria’s team Selig always backed him, Manfred may do the same. At the end of the day, the team was underperforming. If Jennings doesn’t work out, they will move him to another position in the club’s management. But really, all Miami has to do is revert to the mean to get better. That will probably happen.

    Reply
  4. Barca1707

    10 years ago

    “In the spirit of giving structure, accountability and energy to this team, I will as of tomorrow night become the starting first baseman. I’ve also signed myself to a 100MM deal”
    -Jeff Loria tomorrow

    Reply
  5. wkkortas

    10 years ago

    Actually, Loria did due diligence with minorities, specifically French-Canadiens; he offered to move this steaming mess of a franchise back to Montreal, but they politely declined.

    Reply
  6. stymeedone

    10 years ago

    The Brewer’s didn’t have to follow the Selig rule, and they were owned by Selig. Why should the Marlins or any other team have to follow it?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Recent

    Trade Deadline Outlook: New York Yankees

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Atlanta Braves

    Which Other Relievers Might The Orioles Shop?

    Lee Elia Passes Away

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Poll: Which Teams Should Make The Biggest Push For Jarren Duran?

    MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Giants Outright Sergio Alcántara

    Joe Coleman Passes Away

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version