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Marlins name GM Dan Jennings interim manager

By CM Towle

Nov 19, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins vice president & general manager Dan Jennings (left) and president baseball Operations Michael Hill (right) right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (center) pose for a photograph after their press conference at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins vice president & general manager Dan Jennings (left) and president baseball Operations Michael Hill (right) right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (center) pose for a photograph after their press conference at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Miami Marlins fired manager Mike Redmond Sunday night and they have named GM Dan Jennings as the interim manager.

The Marlins made the rather surprising decision on Sunday night to fire manager Mike Redmond. True, it did come shortly after they were nearly no-hit by the Braves, but it remained a somewhat shocking move. Even more eyebrow-raising is the fact that they’re now naming GM Dan Jennings to serve as interim manager, something for which there is little precedent in the MLB. Meanwhile, VP and assistant GM Mike Berger will take over Jennings’ front office duties, according to a story by MLB Trade Rumors.

The interesting thing about this is that Jennings has no dugout experience, even though he is well-respected as a sharp baseball mind throughout the industry. He will be stepping up to the plate in a place where he’s never been before. The Marlins president of baseball operations, Michael Hill and team president David Samson said that Jennings will not only do that, but he will be the manager for the rest of the season, and then they will re-evaluate. At the same time, the Marlins GM position could be said to be vacant, but it’s possible that Jennings will retake the role at the end of the season when they potentially look for a new manager as well.

Samson also said that Jennings was under contract through 2018, which came as a surprise since he was only known to be under contract through 2015. As previously mentioned, there’s not much of a precedent for this move. Samson said that the idea came up during a conference call and Marlins owner Jeffery Loria wasn’t opposed to it when he heard it. The Brewers, who also recently fired their manager, moved their special assistant to the GM to the role of manager, so it’s somewhat similar. Back in 2009, the D-Backs brought their director of player development up to manager when they fired Bob Melvin.

So there are similar moves, but not quite the same. It also places a side-note on the recent trend of hiring managers with no former experience. The difference is that those managers have at least been players before. Even though it’s not clear that it motivated the move, the Marlins are still paying a bunch of front office people, such as the former GM and now the former manager. So moving Jennings keeps them from having to take on another salary.

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