Don Mattingly

Marlins Pick Up Don Mattingly’s Option For 2022 Season

By Steve Adams | July 8, 2021 at 12:03pm CDT

Don Mattingly will return as the Marlins’ manager in 2022. General manager Kim Ng announced on today’s broadcast that Mattingly’s mutual option for the 2022 campaign has been picked up by both parties (Twitter link, with video, via Bally Sports Florida).

“Donnie’s been steady at the helm,” Ng said when asked about the job Mattingly has done. “I think that’s one of his greatest attributes. He’s incredibly patient. I think he’s got a great way with the young players. He’s very positive with them.”

The 2022 season will be Mattingly’s seventh as the Marlins’ manager. He joined the Fish in 2016 on the heels of a five-year run as the Dodgers’ skipper and has since managed the team to a 345-446 record. Of course, the manager of a club that has gone through yet another broad-reaching fire sale, turned over its front office and gone through an ownership change can’t be judged solely on wins and losses. Mattingly has stuck with the club through all of those sweeping changes, convincing multiple front offices and ownership groups alike that he’s the right person to be leading an up-and-coming Marlins club.

Mattingly’s Marlins made a surprise postseason bid last year in the expanded format and did so in spite of a Covid outbreak that gutted the roster and left him with a host of replacement players for several weeks. That unexpected playoff berth contributed to Mattingly’s first NL Manager of the Year win. His club toppled the NL Central champion Cubs in the Wild Card round of play before falling to the Braves in the NLDS.

The 2021 season hasn’t gone exactly according to plan for the Marlins, who’ve fallen into a prolonged stretch of losses and dropped to 38-47 in the standings. The loss of touted young right-hander Sixto Sanchez due to shoulder surgery has been a particularly tough hit for Miami, and they’ve also been without third baseman Brian Anderson and promising righty Elieser Hernandez for much of the 2021 campaign as well.

Still, there are some important pieces in place for the franchise moving forward. Jazz Chisholm is enjoying a nice season in the middle infield, and the Marlins’ rotation has the makings of an impressive group, headlined by Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and 2021 Rookie of the Year candidate Trevor Rogers. Miami has several interesting prospects just breaking into the Majors or on the cusp of doing so, including outfielders Jesus Sanchez and JJ Bleday. Last year’s first-round pick, righty Max Meyer, has utterly dominated the Double-A level and could be a quick-to-the-Majors arm.

Mattingly will get the chance to work with that upcoming wave of talent, and if all goes according to plan next season, it wouldn’t at all be a surprise to see Ng, principal owner Bruce Sherman and CEO Derek Jeter extend Mattingly beyond the 2022 campaign.

Don Mattingly, Kevin Cash Win Manager Of The Year Awards

By TC Zencka | November 10, 2020 at 6:04pm CDT

Florida was privileged to see some first-rate managing this season. Don Mattingly of the Marlins and Kevin Cash of the Rays have been named the Manager of the Year in their respective leagues, per the BBWAA NL and AL announcements. The ballots for the 30 participating writers in each league can be seen in full on the announcements page.

Mattingly becomes just the fifth manager to win the award after having won an MVP award as a player, which Mattingly won with the Yankees in 1985. The Marlins’ skipper finished with 20 of 30 first-place votes and 8 second-place votes. He was left off two ballots. He finished with 124 total points, well ahead of the Padres’ Jayce Tingler, who finished second for the award with 71 votes. David Ross of the Cubs finished third with 25 votes. Ross and Tingler each head into just their second years on the bench, while Mattingly will be entering his 6th season as the manager of the Marlins next season.

The award comes in the same season that his former club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, won their first World Series of this century. Mattingly managed Los Angeles from 2011 until 2015, finishing in first place for the final three seasons of his tenure there, which began the Dodgers’ current stretch of 8 consecutive division titles.

This season, Mattingly helped the Marlins to a 31-29 wild card run that ended their playoff drought at 16 years. The Fish enjoyed quite the turnaround after suffering 98 and 105 losses in the two seasons prior. Perhaps a more telling harbinger of the hardware that would be coming Mattingly’s way was the way his club battled throughout the postseason. They swept the NL Central champion Cubs in a three-game series before being swept themselves in a 3-game series by the division rival Braves. The Marlins were without star centerfielder Starling Marte for their NLDS series.

In the American League, Kevin Cash wins a new trophy for his mantle after leading the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series. He received 22 first-place votes, 5 second-place, and 1 third-place vote to finish with a total of 126 points. He was left off two ballots. Rick Renteria – who has been dismissed by the White Sox – finishes in second place with 61 points. Charlie Montoyo of the Blue Jays finishes in third place with 47 votes. This is Cash’s first time winning the award.

Cash has taken his lumps of late for pulling Blake Snell in Game 6 of the World Series, but he’s more than deserving of this award. He led the small-market Rays to a 40-20 record, the best mark in the American League. They swept the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Round before heading to a decision final game in each of the next two series. They outlasted the Yankees in the divisional round and the Astros in the ALCS to win the pennant. It was just the second time in Tampa’s history making it to the World Series.

Managerial/Coaching Notes: Cora, Rowson, Fuld

By Mark Polishuk | November 7, 2020 at 1:14pm CDT

Alex Cora’s return as the Red Sox manager was widely predicted and even expected by some pundits, though the club’s managerial search “wasn’t a dog-and-pony show,” a source tells The Athletic’s Chad Jennings (subscription required). Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke to a wide range of candidates, and as Jennings writes, “the feeling within the organization was, if Bloom wanted someone else, ownership would support that choice.” There was even some sentiment that Cora was initially only included in the search as “a courtesy interview,” though Bloom increasingly became convinced that Cora was the best choice to lead the club going forward.

More coaching-related notes from around baseball…

Marlins bench coach James Rowson was the third finalist for Boston’s managerial job, Jennings writes. It was already reported that Cora and Phillies director of integrative baseball performance Sam Fuld were the other two finalists (and perhaps the top two choices) for the position, though it wasn’t known whether Rowson or Pirates bench coach Don Kelly was the other candidate to make the final cut.
Rowson’s future still looks bright, however, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that Marlins “officials are intrigued” by their bench coach as a potential manager of the future. Miami hired Rowson as their bench coach and something of an organizational hitting coordinator a year ago, following Rowson’s past stints as a hitting coach for the Twins and Cubs and multiple years working as a hitting instructor in the Yankees’ farm system. Of course, the Marlins already have a manager in Don Mattingly, though Mattingly’s contract is only guaranteed through the 2021 season (with a club option for 2022). It certainly doesn’t seem like Mattingly is in danger of being replaced any time soon, both due to Miami’s success last season and, as Rosenthal puts it, “it’s difficult to imagine them making a move with Mattingly and paying two managers at once.” However, Mattingly is one of the few holdovers remaining from Jeffrey Loria’s ownership, so Derek Jeter could want a hand-picked manager in charge if he feels the Marlins have fully turned the corner on their rebuild.
Fuld may not have been the choice as Red Sox manager, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe wonders if the team’s interest in Fuld could make him a candidate to be the team’s next bench coach. Fuld has never worked as a coach or manager at either the MLB or minor league levels, as his post-playing career has been spent in his current role with the Phillies. If not Fuld as bench coach, the Sox could promote from within their current coaching staff, with Abraham suggesting Ramon Vazquez or Carlos Febles as potential candidates.

Marlins Set Rotation For First Three Games Of NLDS

By TC Zencka | October 5, 2020 at 7:09pm CDT

The Marlins are preparing to kick off their NLDS against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. This series is non-conventional for a postseason set in that the best-of-five will play out over 5 consecutive days (and of course, because it’s being played in a playoff bubble at a neutral site during a pandemic).

No days off means there will be less of the starters-in-relief that has come to define many recent postseasons, including last year when Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez used each of Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Patrick Corbin out of the bullpen en route to winning the World Series. But there’s still potential for lots of in-series finagling of pitching staffs depending on how the first couple of games play out. For Atlanta, that could mean a bullpen day for game four. Max Fried, Ian Anderson, and Kyle Wright will take the hill for the first three games, and odds are they’d bring Fried back on short rest for a potential winner-take-all game five.

The potential to return on short rest for a deciding game five makes the selection of the game one starter all the more important . The Marlins will start Sandy Alcantara in the series opener, followed by Pablo López in game two and rookie phenom Sixto Sánchez in game three, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The Marlins young trio have a real opportunity to add to their pandemic-truncated resumes. Alcantara and López won’t be arbitration eligible until after 2021, so there’s time to build a more comprehensive portfolio before entering the arbitration process. Still, every extra start does help considering the half a season or more lost due to the pandemic. The 25-year-old Alcantara, for example, was only able to make 7 regular season starts because of time spent on the COVID-19 injured list. He added one successful postseason start to that total already, and by starting game one of the NLDS, he could add another pair should the series go the distance.

Sánchez, with just 7 regular season starts to his name, isn’t scheduled to enter arbitration until after the 2023 season. He’ll be pushed back a day after 5 spotless innings against the Cubs in game two of the Wild Card series. Sánchez came out hot against the Cubs, routinely hitting triple-digits in the first couple of innings. His velocity dropped to the 94-to-97 mph range by the fifth inning. A game two start would have put him on track for a regular four days of rest. This way gets the 22-year-old an extra day off after a high-intensity outing at Wrigley Field.

López will take the hill for Wednesday’s game two instead. His last start came all the way back on September 24th. That gives him 12 days off between starts. That last outing also happened to come against these very Braves, one of three times he opposed Freddie Freeman and company during the regular season. The Marlins went 2-1 in those games, though the loss on September 9th was easily López’s roughest (and shortest) outing of the season. He managed just 1 2/3 innings while serving up 4 hits, 4 walks, and 7 earned runs. The 24-year-old went 5 scoreless, striking out 6 while yielding just 2 hits and 2 walks in his final start of the year at Atlanta.

In a vacuum, any of the three would be legitimate options to open the series, but manager Don Mattingly wasn’t troubled by his decision about who to start in game one. Per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, Mattingly said, “Obviously, Sandy’s easy. He’s been our guy, kind of our No. 1.”

NL Notes: Mattingly, Freeman, Diamondbacks, Lamb

By George Miller | September 22, 2019 at 4:59pm CDT

When Marlins manager Don Mattingly signed his freshly-inked two-year contract extension, he may have taken a significant pay cut to keep his position in the Miami dugout, writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. While the precise financials of the contract have not been released to the public, Rosenthal’s sources have indicated that Mattingly will make roughly $2MM annually to stay in Miami—a considerable downgrade the $2.8MM figure that he’s earned this season. While the Marlins are notorious for their conservative spending, Rosenthal argues that Mattingly’s salary reflects an industry-wide trend that has driven managers’ salaries down. A veteran like Mattingly may have found it hard to match his previous salary had he elected to go job-hunting elsewhere in the Majors, where teams increasingly favor younger—and therefore more affordable—analytically-driven managers. That’s not to discount Mattingly’s work with the rebuilding Marlins, who have praised his ability to work with young players; however, it’s notable just how much the landscape of baseball has changed that a lifer like Mattingly is no longer a sought-after skipper.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has been battling through a bone spur in his elbow, was again bothered by the elbow today, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. With his Braves having already clinched the NL East, he’ll play it safe and take the next few days off before rejoining the club on Friday for the series against the Mets. The hope is that four days of rest and treatment will have Freeman ready to go for the rest of year—it’s worth noting that, after the game, manager Brian Snitker said that Freeman would be in the lineup if the playoffs were starting tomorrow.
With the offseason approaching, there will be no shortage of questions surrounding Diamondbacks infielder Jake Lamb, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Lamb has struggled through a second consecutive disappointing year after an All-Star campaign in 2017. He’ll be eligible for arbitration this winter, and the organization may opt to non-tender Lamb in favor of more affordable, less risky investments. Injuries to his shoulder and quad have robbed Lamb of regular at-bats, making it difficult to regain the swing that produced 30 home runs just two years ago. Unfortunately for Lamb, those injuries have opened doors for others in the organization, and he may now find himself squeezed out of the D-Backs’ plans.

Marlins Extend Don Mattingly

By Mark Polishuk | September 22, 2019 at 8:39am CDT

Sept. 22: Mattingly’s new contract comes with a rather significant pay cut, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. While Mattingly’s previous deal came with a $2.8MM salary for 2019, this pact is believed to pay him $2MM or less annually. The Marlins declined to formally announce the terms.

Sept. 20: The Marlins have formally announced the extension. It’s a two-year deal with a mutual option for the 2022 season.

Sept. 19, 9:46pm: It’s a two-year deal with an option, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

8:38pm: The Marlins and manager Don Mattingly have agreed on a contract extension, as per Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (Twitter link). The deal will be officially announced tomorrow at a press conference.

Mattingly’s four-year contract was set to expire after the season, and there had been a great deal of speculation that the skipper’s time in Miami was coming to a close. Mattingly was a holdover from Jeffrey Loria’s ownership, and new CEO Derek Jeter said just last month that upper management hadn’t yet made a decision about whether or not to retain Mattingly beyond the 2019 campaign.

While Jeter and company have largely cleaned house within the Marlins’ organization since Bruce Sherman’s ownership group bought the team in 2017, some key personnel have been retained, most notably Mattingly and president of baseball operations Michael Hill. Their contracts could have played a role (Hill is also under a long-term deal that runs through 2020), though the fact that Mattingly is now staying is certainly acknowledgement that Jeter’s regime isn’t entirely doing away with holdovers from the Loria days.

Indeed, it’s hard to blame Mattingly for the 272-364 record he carries as the Marlins’ manager. A respectable 79-82 campaign in 2016 was marred by the tragic death of Jose Fernandez near the end of the season, 2017 was a 77-85 writeoff dominated by the impending team sale and rumors of yet another fire sale of the Marlins’ top players, and the miserable 116-197 record of the last two seasons have borne the results of that fire sale. The Fish are on pace to crack the 100-loss threshold for the third time in franchise history.

Somewhat surprisingly, Mattingly’s 636 games in the dugout already make him the longest-serving manager the Marlins have ever had, which speaks to the tumult this organization has more or less faced since day one. Mattingly’s retention will provide some sense of stability as the Marlins put together a new core group of young talent in their latest rebuild.

One of the game’s biggest stars of the 1980’s during his playing days with the Yankees, the 58-year-old Mattingly is about to complete his ninth year as a manager. Miami’s struggles brought Mattingly’s career managerial record (718-727) under the .500 mark, as he enjoyed five years of winning baseball with the Dodgers from 2011-15 that included three NL West titles.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NL East Notes: Realmuto, Mattingly, Mets

By Connor Byrne | September 17, 2019 at 1:28am CDT

Here’s the latest on a trio of clubs from the NL East:

Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, who has proven to be one of the most valuable acquisitions of last offseason, suggested back in July that he’d be open to signing an extension with the club. While a deal hasn’t come together yet, it looks as if the team’s interested in locking up Realmuto for the long haul, according to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Lauber notes Realmuto could soon become the game’s latest nine-figure catcher, which would place him in company with the likes of the Giants’ Buster Posey and now-retired Twins icon Joe Mauer. Realmuto, a former Marlin, has been superb in 2019 – his age-28 campaign – and has continued to make a case for one of the richest paydays in the history of his position. With just one more season of control left after this one, the Phillies will have to act fast if they’re going to prevent Realmuto from leaving over the next year-plus. Having traded elite pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez for Realmuto over the winter, it stands to reason the Phillies will make a serious attempt to keep the two-time All-Star backstop in the fold.
In an interview with Andre Fernandez of The Athletic (subscription required), Marlins manager Don Mattingly once again indicated he’d like to manage the club in 2020. But if a new agreement between Mattingly, whose contract is set to expire, and the Marlins doesn’t come together after the season, he’ll be willing to go elsewhere. Mattingly said it’s his “mindset” to manage someplace in 2020, whether it’s Miami or another MLB city. The 58-year-old is in his fourth season in Miami, and though the win-loss results haven’t been pretty, Mattingly’s respected enough to potentially end up on other teams’ radars if the Marlins don’t retain him.
Mets first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith and right-hander Robert Gsellman are still hoping to return this season, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Time is obviously running out on the injured pair, however. Smith hasn’t played since July 27 on account of a stress reaction in his left foot, but the 24-year-old was among the Mets’ most effective hitters of 2019 before then. Gsellman has been down for just under a month with a partial lat tear – an injury that cut off an unspectacular campaign for the 26-year-old reliever.

NL East Notes: Freeman, Braves, Phillies, Marlins

By TC Zencka | September 14, 2019 at 11:04am CDT

Nick Markakis returned to the Braves lineup Friday night after a seven-week layoff. The Braves were able to “ease” Markakis back into action with a cupcake matchup against Max Scherzer, against whom he’s rolled to a .323/.375/.423 line in 65 career at-bats. Not bad production against one of the best pitchers of his generation. Three innings into his return, the Braves faced a fresh injury scare. Freddie Freeman left yesterday’s game with elbow soreness, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien. Freddie Franchise aggravated a bone spur while making a defensive play, but his removal was precautionary, and the Braves don’t expect him to miss any time. Freeman himself classified the injury as day-to-day, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. He’ll be back in the lineup by Sunday at the latest. Let’s see what else is happening in the NL East…

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler’s decision-making has been under the microscope of late, and it could result in his dismissal, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required). Kapler’s competency in managing the bullpen was called into question as recently as last week, per The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro, and as far back as game number three of his managerial tenure in Philly. With one year remaining on his contract, expect Kapler’s employment status to remain top-of-mind in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. GM Matt Klenak’s job is safe, but even with a contract that runs through 2022, he may feel the pressure to find and install the right guy to lead this team, if indeed ownership has doubts about Kapler.
Meanwhile in Miami, Don Mattingly may have priced himself out of a job. Rosenthal suggests finances could be a primary motivator in deciding whether to return Mattingly to his role as Miami’s field manager beyond 2019. Regardless of performance, keeping Mattingly at his current price sounds like a no-go for the cost-conscious ownership group. Perhaps of even more consequence, there are rumblings that Michael Hill will be removed from his position as President of Baseball Ops, a title he’s held since a being promoted from GM in 2013. Hill has been with the organization since 2002. Scuttlebutt has long-time Giants front office frontman Brian Sabean as a potential replacement, while current Marlins VP of Player Development and Scouting Gary Denbo has be increasingly relied upon of late. Notably, both Sabean and Denbo have ties to Derek Jeter’s early days with the Yankees.

NL Notes: Thor, Mattingly, Panda, Padres

By Jeff Todd | September 10, 2019 at 12:08am CDT

Though he has remained adamant about his desire to remain with the Mets, that doesn’t mean Noah Syndergaard is content with every aspect of his relationship with the team. Joel Sherman and Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reported today that the big righty has been displeased all season with throwing to primary catcher Wilson Ramos, preferring instead reserve Tomas Nido (or perhaps third-stringer Rene Rivera). Thor’s wrath has spawned a full-blown BatteryMateGate involving lengthy internal meetings and multiple engagements with the media. Ultimately, Mets manager Mickey Callaway and GM Brodie Van Wagenen explained that the club has to take into account more than the preferences of a given pitcher. In addition to being highly compensated and well-respected, Ramos is one of the team’s best hitters. While none of the organizational leaders cracked the whip on the star hurler, they didn’t indicate any inclination to bend on the topic. Callaway put it in particularly blunt terms: “You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy. It’s about winning at this point.” Whether this matter will carry over into the future, if not even impact Syndergaard’s long-term status in New York, remains to be seen.

Jeter: Marlins Haven’t Made Decision On Mattingly’s Future

By Connor Byrne | August 14, 2019 at 11:09pm CDT

The Marlins will reportedly move on from manager Don Mattingly after the season, but the 58-year-old said Wednesday he hopes to return to his post in 2020, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com relays.

“I’d love to be back, especially if they want you back,” said Mattingly, whose contract will expire at season’s end.

Marlins owner Derek Jeter acknowledged that Mattingly’s future is “something that we need to talk about sooner rather than later. We have touched base, and we’ll continue to talk.” To this point, though, the Marlins haven’t taken time to decide on whether they’ll make a change in the dugout, according to Jeter.

Going solely by win-loss record, it’s been a rather poor Miami tenure for Mattingly, whose teams have assembled a 263-339 mark. But judging by record wouldn’t be fair to Mattingly, who has tried to weather especially tempestuous times as the Marlins’ skipper. The franchise looked to be making progress in his first year on the job, a 79-win campaign, but it lost ace Jose Fernandez in a boating accident that September. The next season – an MVP-winning effort for outfielder Giancarlo Stanton – the Marlins hung in wild-contention late into the summer before falling apart and finishing 77-85.

Jeter and Bruce Sherman took over for the reviled Jeffrey Loria as the Marlins’ owners after the 2017 season, and they then launched the organization into a full rebuild. Since then, the Marlins have slashed a huge amount of payroll – not to mention big league talent – by trading the likes of Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto. In the process, the Marlins have rebuilt a once-dreadful farm system into an impressive group, but Mattingly hasn’t really been in position to benefit from that. The MLB club has gone 107-172 dating back to 2018.

If the Marlins do move on from Mattingly after the season, it’ll represent one former Yankees captain waving goodbye to another. Mattingly held the role with the Yankees until he retired in 1995. Jeter, who debuted in Mattingly’s final season, took over as New York’s captain in 2003. Should Jeter part with him, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mattingly draw managerial interest from elsewhere at the outset of the offseason. He’s a respected presence in the game who, before landing in Miami, enjoyed a decent run as the Dodgers’ manager from 2011-15.

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