There’s been plenty written about the looming change in the Marlins’ front office, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports the first wave of personnel shakeups in Miami. Per Frisaro, vice president of player development Marty Scott and vice president of player personnel Craig Weissmann were reassigned yesterday. Meanwhile, vice president of scouting Stan Meek was given an extension through the 2017 season, meaning he’ll continue overseeing the Marlins’ draft for the foreseeable future.
Frisaro, like many others, notes that manager Dan Jennings is expected to return to the front office following the season (Frisaro, the Miami Herald, FOX Sports and CBS Sports have all written on this recently). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports wrote late last night that a meeting of the team’s higher-ups was set for Thursday, at which point Jennings will be offered a role in the front office. However, the Herald’s Clark Spencer reported yesterday that the relationship between Jennings and owner Jeffrey Loria has become strained, so it’s not certain what type of role he’ll have waiting for him. In the event that Jennings doesn’t return to the GM chair, both Spencer and FOX’s Ken Rosenthal have noted that assistant GM Mike Berger could be a candidate to fill the void on a long-term basis. (Berger has already stepped up and taken on some of Jennings’ former GM duties.)
Beyond front office changes, Heyman writes that the Marlins are planning an “exhaustive” search to find an experienced manager to take over for Jennings. According to Heyman, Don Mattingly has long been of interest to Loria, though he, of course, is under contract with the Dodgers beyond 2015. A disappointing finish could have some impact on his standing with the organization, particularly due to the fact that he was a hire of the previous front office regime, but for the time being Mattingly isn’t available as an option for the Marlins. Heyman speculatively lists experienced names such as Dusty Baker, Ron Gardenhire, Bud Black, Larry Bowa, Jim Riggleman and Rick Renteria, among others, as candidates.
Frisaro and Spencer have both written recently that further changes are expected throughout the organization, with the scouting department among the areas that could be overhauled.
There is only one change that is Needed , and that is the Scumbag Owner !
Yep. To this day there’s no way of knowing if Mike Hill and Dan Jennings are good at assembling a major league team, because Loria won’t get out of the way.
They’ve had some bad luck too to give them a little credit. I think they’ve put several teams recently that by all accounts SHOULD have been good, including this year, but didn’t pan out.
Yeah, I thought they’d be a wild card team this year. In retrospect that was banking on almost everything breaking their way, though.
I dunno. Team was pinning hopes on guys with folks they just acquired who were loaded with question marks. Latos had been hurt last year, Morse can never be counted on. Prado’s OBP had hit the floor, his power was just about gone and they were giving up a talented starter for him in Eovaldi, just to get rid of Garret Jones 5m salary. They needed Saltalamachia to bounce back from a sub par season, instead he was even worse and they had to call up a green rookie that wasn’t ready.
Whole pile of “if’s” this team entered 2015 with.
That doesn’t include the pitching staff that at the start of the year would be generously labeled 4 deep
Agree 100, but I won’t use the word scumbag. This is the regime that last year cleaned up their farm system and also this year made trade base on financial reasons. They gave up a lot (Evoldi, Descalfani, etc, add to that draft pics) for renting Latos, and getting in return money to pay the salaries of D Gordon, Prado, and Haren. This Regime needs to go. The sad part about it is the league is not doing something about it. Also how about needing a new voice. What an ignorant statement. Oh! we need a new voice on the dog out, ha, ha, what happened it seem that so silly. I’ll take Red anytime, moment over Jennings. There is only one way out of this, keep the core, add significant parts but it will cost money and Loria won’t go there. Add Shields to anchor with Fernandez the rotation, he will be great in the East(It is offensively week) Add someone like Gordon, but again Loria won’t do it.
Please, please, PLEASE somebody convince Jim Leyland to take the Miami job. Baseball needs his gruff, old-school, chain-smoking, get-off-my-porch attitude.
If they could work that miracle? A guy good with both kids and veterans? Try working another, by getting the best GM the team ever had in Jack McKeon, another old timer who is about the same age as Leyland.
Have written this before here.. Remember Jimmy well from his days as the manager of the local Lakeland Tigers. The guy was a winner in the early-mid 70’s and knew then how to handle young talent, like Alan Trammel, Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson during their 1st year-2 in professional ball. He’d be the perfect manager for a rebuilding marlin’s team right now.
This regime is all about saving money. Prado, Haren, Dee brought in money, draft pics, they always go low to save money, remember in 2014 they signed a catcher that came from no one list, a chance to land Nola but Kolek was cheaper. And recently send Latos, draft pick and Morse to save money. These guys need to go. This team is not far from being very good, the talent is there, just need some pieces and investment. So ALL THE BLAME in terms of disappointments goes to the owner, not the staff. He aloud these deals for the purpose of saving money and them don’t want to accept responsibility for his choices and decisions and blame everyone else. Loria you are fired.
Anybody but Mattingly!!!……..He has NO IDEA how to handle young players! He’s always favored veterans over the kids……..He’s an idiot!
Wonder where and whom he learned those traits all from??
Joe Torre !
Step 1: Make Loria go away
I would say that the names being thrown out right now to be the next manager will not help us. We need someone that understands matchups, and understands that there are certain things that need to be done differently, as the league has evolved. Also, we need someone that commands respect. We need someone that understands how to use a 25 man roster to its strengths. Honestly, I would love to go after one of the young, analytical GMs that are currently available, and then choose a manager. Our issues are organizationally from the top to the bottom. Still, I dont see any reason why anyone as smart as one of them would ever work for Loria, and the Marlins don’t believe in analytics, so they wouldn’t let him to do anything anyway, and that especially means hiring a manager that also understands those things. If we cant get a manager that understands obviously important modern day baseball things, then at least get someone that commands respect, and doesnt make moves that make you want to rip your eyes out. I personally still think Mike Redmond needed to go, as he was a poor in game manager, but replacing him with an even worse version of himself in Jennings made no sense. I said it when it happened, and I’ll say it again now. Someone I wouldnt mind if its not possible to find someone that fits what I described earlier would definitely be Jack Mckeon. He has said he would want to manage again, and I think he has qualities that would help this team, the way he did the first 2 times he managed the Marlins.
At the end of the day, we made bad deals for Dee Gordon and Mat Latos that killed our depth, and the only money we actually spent was on Michael Morse, which never made sense whatsoever. We could have been in a much better situation, with flexibility to add in free agency these next couple of seasons to add to our controllable pieces. Also, had we not traded those young, controllable pieces, we may have been able to survive our injury situation this season. Now we need more than we should have, but we do still have the payroll flexibility. The problem is that we obviously aren’t going to use it to add the multiple SPs we need (at least 2), or the at least 3 bullpen arms we need, including someone that can pitch at the back end of the bullpen, and someone that can get lefties out. Trading a controllable, young, and effective arm like Sam Dyson means it’s an even bigger need than before. Also, b/c we moved Enrique Hernandez and Austin Barnes, we don’t have as much versatility to give us more position player depth. Right now, we dont have any prospects in the upper minors either, so depth in that area is another need. As I said, the issues are organizationally from the top to the bottom. Unless the team stays healthy next year, and guys come back with seasons they are capable of, they are going to need a couple of seasons to get things moving back in a better direction, as they were at this time last year. However, by then, some of our cost controlled pieces will begin to make some money. A new TV contract may be a possibility in a couple of years. Now is the time to add to the roster, and make some sort of a push. If not, we might as well retool
How can you say that Marlins need a Manger that command ” Respect ” when the Owner has none ! In what Universe are you living ?