Skip Schumaker Hired as Marlins' New Manager Following Don Mattingly's Exit

The Miami Marlins have hired Skip Schumaker as their new manager ahead of the 2023 campaign, the team announced Tuesday:

Schumaker replaces Don Mattingly, who agreed to step down as manager of the Marlins following a 2022 season in which they finished 69-93 and missed the playoffs for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.

Mattingly had served as manager of the Marlins since 2016, leading the club to a 443-587 record. His best season came during the 2020 campaign shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic when the Marlins finished 31-29 and reached the National League Division Series before falling to the Atlanta Braves.

Schumaker will be tasked with getting the Marlins back into playoff contention.

This marks the 42-year-old's first stint as the manager of a Major League Baseball club. He served as first base coach for the San Diego Padres from 2018 to 2021 before being hired as a bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2022 campaign.

While he doesn't have much coaching experience, Schumaker played 11 seasons in MLB for the Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds from 2005 to 2015. He was on St. Louis' 2011 World Series-winning squad.

Schumaker will have his work cut out for him in Miami.

Aside from making the playoffs and finishing with a winning record during the shortened 2020 season, the Marlins have not secured a winning season since the 2009 campaign when they finished 87-75.

While the team has promising young players in starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara, first baseman Lewin Díaz, center fielder Bryan De La Cruz and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., it has a long way to go to contend with some of the NL giants, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Padres, Dodgers, Braves and New York Mets.