MLB Rumors: Marlins' Skip Schumaker Won't Return as Manager for 2025 Season

In a move that was foreshadowed earlier this season when Skip Schumaker requested his 2025 option be removed from his contract, the 44-year-old manager is not planning to return to the Miami Marlins next year.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, Schumaker informed Marlins players of his decision after Friday's 15-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Passan noted Schumaker will miss the final two games of the season "to address a family issue."

Passan noted Schumaker figures to be regarded as a top managerial candidate for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox this offseason. There could also be other opportunities for him, depending on which jobs open up after the regular season ends.

In April, Jordan McPherson, Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reported that Schumaker requested to have his option removed stemming from disappointment over the attempted demotion and subsequent departure of Kim Ng as general manager.

Ng left the club in October 2023 by declining her option due to feeling like Marlins ownership was trying to reduce her role in the front office, per The Athletic's Britt Ghiroli.

Among the issues Ng had with ownership was they declined to extend her a three-year contract offer after 2023, which Ghiroli noted is "fairly standard in the industry when an executive is at the end of their deal or has achieved significant accomplishments."

There was also the question of what Ng's role was going to be after the Marlins hired Peter Bendix as president of baseball operations.

The Marlins were a pleasant surprise in 2023, finishing with an 84-78 record. They made the playoffs for just the second time since 2004, losing in two games to the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card series.

Schumaker was named 2023 NL Manager of the Year, joining Don Mattingly in 2020 as the only Marlins' skippers to win the honor. He was hired as Miami's manager in October 2022 after Mattingly stepped down.

Things fell apart for the Marlins in 2024. Their 60-100 record is the second-worst in MLB with two games remaining, better than only the Chicago White Sox (39-121). Luis Arráez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Tanner Scott and A.J. Puk were traded away during the season.

Schumaker posted a 144-178 record in his two seasons with the Marlins. He previously worked as a first base coach for the San Diego Padres and bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals prior to being hired by Miami.