The Miami Marlins have settled on St. Louis Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker as their next manager, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.
"After an extensive process, it is with great pride and excitement that we announce Skip Schumaker as Manager of the Miami Marlins as we welcome him, his wife, Lindsey, and children, Presley and Brody, to the Marlins family," Marlins owner Bruce Sherman said in a statement. "Skip has a long list of distinguished accomplishments as both a player and a coach that showcase the remarkable individual he is as well as the high level of credibility and leadership he will bring to the dugout and the Marlins organization. He has an incredible passion and winning spirit that will set the course for the Marlins franchise."
Schumaker, 42, will replace Don Mattingly, who reached a mutual agreement with the club last month to step down after seven seasons at the helm.
"As we continue to grow as an organization, we felt it was important to find an individual who had been a part of a winning culture," said Marlins general manager Kim Ng. "Having been a member of two championship teams, along with his reputation for tenacity and getting every ounce out of his ability, Skip will be a tremendous example to our players. His leadership style, teaching skills and attention to detail made him the clear choice as the club's new manager."
Schumaker spent parts of 11 seasons as a useful utility player in the majors and was a member of the Cardinals' championship teams of 2006 and 2011. Prior to serving as the Cardinals' bench coach this season under manager Oliver Marmol, Schumaker was the Padres' associate manager for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
"I'm very excited and grateful that Bruce, Kim, and the Marlins organization have given me an opportunity to manage a very talented team," Schumaker said in a statement. "Delivering a winning, sustainable culture with the expectation of getting into the postseason is the next step for this organization and South Florida -- and I can't wait to get started."
Schumaker, who becomes the 16th manager in franchise history, inherits a team on an uncertain trajectory. Under Mattingly, the team made the postseason during the abbreviated 2020 season, but they did so thanks to the expanded field and in spite of a negative run differential. In 2021, the Marlins lost 95 games, and this season they suffered 93 losses while finishing in fourth place for a second-straight year. While the organization is rich in pitching, the offense has been a weak spot for some time. How the Marlins' young hitters develop and whether the front office makes additions that actually helps the offense will go a long way in determining how successful Schumaker is, at least at the front end of his tenure.
Now that the Marlins have settled on their next manager, the Royals and White Sox are the last teams with a managerial vacancy. The Rangers hired Bruce Bochy last week.
