The Miami Marlins have been in a near-constant state of rebuilding since their last championship in 2003. But in 2024, the rebuild appears to be beginning anew once more.
Miami made the playoffs in 2023, but one would never know it based on their play this season. At 44-75, the Fish own the third-worst record in all of Major League Baseball, sitting 18.5 games back in the National League East.
After a trade deadline in which they sold off most of their key veteran pieces, the Marlins are looking several years into the future. First-year president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, hired to replicate his success with the Tampa Bay Rays, appears to be cleaning house.
According to a report from ESPN's Alden González, the Marlins made a sweeping series of firings on Monday across their front office and scouting department. At least seven front office executives and 10 scouts were let go in the process.
"Bendix was widely expected to eventually make more of his own hirings, but people throughout the industry were stunned by the breadth of changes made with seven weeks still remaining in the regular season," González said.
All of the employees confirmed to be fired were hired under previous Marlins regimes, namely former top executives Derek Jeter and Kim Ng.
Among those let go were assistant general manager Oz Ocampo, widely known for his international scouting success with the Houston Astros, and international scouting director Roman Ocumarez.
González also reported that manager Skip Schumaker, who won the NL Manager of the Year award in 2023, is "widely expected" to become a free agent at the end of this season. That likely means a sweeping overhaul of the coaching staff is coming as well.
The Marlins have been through constant turmoil over the past two decades. Bendix has sold himself as the exec who can finally bring sustainability to an erratic franchise. Only time will tell if moves like these were necessary to bring that sustainability to fruition.
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