The Miami Marlins continued the gutting of their organization this week, bringing the total of staffers let go to more than 70, according to lists obtained by The Athletic.
More departures are possible after contracts expire Oct. 31. The Marlins told a number of employees, including major-league coaches Luis Urueta and Jon Jay, that the team is interested in them returning, sources said. But decisions on the futures of those staffers will be left to new hires, including the next manager. Skip Schumaker, the 2023 National League Manager of the Year, left the organization after reaching an agreement with the club last offseason to void the 2025 option on his contract.
Major-league teams typically experience turnover toward the end of each season, and that turnover generally accelerates when a new head of baseball operations takes control. But while change was expected after the Marlins hired Peter Bendix as general manager last November, few teams institute overhauls that are this sweeping.
Bendix declined comment, but a club official said the team will fill all the vacant positions and create new roles as well, saying the moves were done to reset and restructure baseball operations, not cut costs.
The Marlins’ purge began in mid-August, when they parted with two assistant general managers, four field coordinators, their international scouting director and more than 10 scouts, as first reported by ESPN. Another 31 employees, many in player development, lost their jobs in September. The major-league coaches were among the 23 who received notice this week that they would not return next season. The cuts also included the team’s dietitian, home clubhouse manager and traveling secretary, and others.
Under Schumaker, the Marlins in 2023 made the playoffs for the first time in a full campaign since winning the 2003 World Series. Owner Bruce Sherman then replaced general manager Kim Ng with Bendix, and the team finished 62-100 this season, the third-fourth worst record in the majors.
It was the fifth time in six full seasons under Sherman that the Marlins lost 90 or more games.
(Top photo of Bendix (left) and Sherman (right): Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
