6 MLB Managers on the Hot Seat After Derek Shelton’s Firing
Now that the 2025 Major League Baseball season officially has its first manager casualty, there's an obvious question: Who's next?
The only foolproof guess is that it won't be Don Kelly. He's only just taken over as the skipper of the Pittsburgh Pirates, replacing Derek Shelton after the Bucs gave him the ol' heave-ho on Thursday.
There are otherwise managers who have job security galore. Dave Roberts is tied to the Los Angeles Dodgers through 2029, and Craig Counsell (Chicago Cubs), Alex Cora (Boston Red Sox) and Kevin Cash (Tampa Bay Rays) are locked up as well. Even Aaron Boone, no stranger to the hot seat, got an extension from the New York Yankees in February.
The managerial hot seat is never empty, however, and there are six skippers who look like potential fodder for the Shelton treatment. Five are falling short for ostensible contenders, whereas the other guy is threatening an all-time bad season.
Before we get into those skippers, let's first touch on a few others whose seats should at least be a little warm.
Note: All playoff odds are according to FanGraphs.
Honorable Mentions
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Joe Espada, Houston Astros
Would the Astros really fire Espada in just the second year of his tenure? It is hard to see it, but the club has already settled into a pattern of underachievement under his watch. That's never a good thing, and least of all when a team is trying to make the most of a rapidly closing contention window.
Dave Martinez, Washington Nationals
It was Martinez who guided the Nationals to the franchise's first World Series title in 2019, but that was a long time ago and he's lost a National League-high 441 games since then. He's also in the last guaranteed year of his contract, potentially giving the Nats a window to get an early start to seeking their next manager.
Rob Thomson, Philadelphia Phillies
Thomson authored an all-time save in 2022, taking over for Joe Girardi in June and guiding the Phillies to the World Series. Yet the team hasn't made forward progress since then, and it now finds itself looking up at the New York Mets in the NL East. If progress continues to stall or even reverses, a new leader could be needed.
Ron Washington, Los Angeles Angels
Working for Angels owner Arte Moreno isn't a comfortable gig, as Washington is the club's fifth manager just since 2018. He's also a lame duck skipper with a .396 winning percentage to show for his time in the dugout. That's not all his fault, but one can imagine him paying the price for it anyway.
Brian Snitker, Atlanta Braves
2 of 7
2025 Record: 18-19
Playoff Odds: 65.0 percent
The Braves wouldn't really fire Brian Snitker, would they?
It's indeed not easy to imagine them doing him dirty like that. He's been a mainstay in the organization since he was suiting up for the Kingsport Braves in 1977, and his winning percentage as their manager (.556) is basically identical to that of franchise icon Bobby Cox (.557).
Still, it suffices to say that the Braves are not where they want to be right now.
The 69-year-old Snitker led them to a World Series title in 2021 and followed with back-to-back 100-win seasons in 2022 and 2023, but then came a skid to 89 wins last year and an even harder time so far in 2025.
It wasn't supposed to be this way, as Atlanta began this year with a 92.5 percent chance of making the playoffs and a 15.0 percent chance of winning another title. And in Snitker's defense, injuries are a big reason why both numbers have fallen.
This said, he really stepped in it with the Jarred Kelenic-Ronald Acuña Jr. controversy. You also have to wonder about what he's not saying to Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, whose offensive performances have fallen off over the last two years.
Given that he's only signed for this season, the Braves need to at least be thinking about moving on from Snitker...even if they don't actually fire him.
Oli Marmol, St. Louis Cardinals
3 of 7
2025 Record: 19-19
Playoff Odds: 19.3 percent
Oli Marmol is another "hard to see it actually happening" inclusion on this list, albeit for different reasons than Brian Snitker.
Though Marmol has deep roots in the Cardinals organization, he's only 38 years old and the organization itself is in a state of flux. It's out in the open that 2025 is a transitional year for the Cardinals, particularly in that it's a last hurrah for John Mozeliak before control of the front office passes to Chaim Bloom in 2026.
If the Cardinals are going to make a change in the manager's chair, you have to think it won't be until then. And maybe not even, given that Marmol's contract runs through 2026.
And yet, the question of why the Cardinals are sticking with Marmol isn't getting easier to answer.
Since he debuted with a 93-win season in 2022, the Cardinals are just 173-189 under his watch. They're also underachieving relative to their run differential in 2025, which is never a good look for any manager.
That the Cardinals are within striking distance of first place in the NL Central is the good news, and it's bolstered by the fact that there's real talent on both sides of the ball. As such, the question the organization should be asking is whether someone else could squeeze more wins out of this roster.
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Bud Black, Colorado Rockies
4 of 7
2025 Record: 6-31
Playoff Odds: 0.0 percent
To start us off, here are a couple of fun facts about Bud Black:
- He's one of 39 managers who've managed 18 or more major league seasons
- His .460 career winning percentage is the worst of the bunch
Of course, these facts are only "fun" for the schadenfreude enthusiasts among us. Yet what is undeniably true either way is that Black's winning percentage is not exactly going up in 2025.
The Rockies are one of only two teams in MLB history to lose 31 times in the first 37 games of a season. Even the 2024 Chicago White Sox didn't do that en route to 121 losses, and their first manager didn't survive to tell the tale.
Beyond that bad omen, there's the sheer awkwardness of the fit for Black in Denver. He's a 67-year-old who's been in professional baseball since the late 1970s, and he's in charge of a roster that skews decidedly younger.
Throw in how Black is only signed for this year, and making him a sacrificial lamb would seem to be an easy call for the Rockies.
However, these are the Rockies we're talking about. They march to a sort of protectionist drumbeat, and it wasn't long ago that Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that people in the organization "think highly of Black."
Not a vote of confidence, perhaps, but the Rockies may well determine that letting Black finish off an all-time terrible season is less humiliating than firing him.
John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays
5 of 7
2025 Record: 17-20
Playoff Odds: 25.1 percent
It was only three years ago that John Schneider was the beneficiary of a managerial firing, and his first 236 games in the role were a rousing success.
He began by leading the Blue Jays to a 46-28 record down the stretch in 2022, resulting in the first of back-to-back playoff appearances. And even just four seasons in, he's already sixth on the team's all-time win list.
A last-place finish in 2024 didn't do Schneider any favors, however, and the pressure on him to succeed is only higher in 2025. The Blue Jays spent $158 million on free agents over the winter, plus another $500 million on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in April.
The 17-20 record is therefore not the best look for Schneider, and the trendline is not going up. Since getting out to a 12-8 start, the Blue Jays have lost 12 out of their last 17 games.
Making Schneider, 45, even more of an easy target is his contract, which is only guaranteed through the end of this season. What's more, the clock is almost certainly ticking.
If the Blue Jays are going to make a move up the standings, it has to be soon. Otherwise, they'll have little choice but to start selling off parts (i.e., Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, et al) at the trade deadline. If Schneider can't spur this move, the Blue Jays must wonder if someone else can.
Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
6 of 7
2025 Record: 18-20
Playoff Odds: 41.5 percent
After what happened in 2024, it's a small miracle that Rocco Baldelli is still managing the Twins here in 2025.
At various points last season, the Twins were 17 games over .500 and seen as having a 95.8 percent chance of making the playoffs. They just plain collapsed, losing 27 of their last 39 games and finishing in fourth in the AL Central.
The Twins nonetheless stuck with Baldelli, with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey saying in September: "I believe in his process, I believe in him, I believe in the partnership I have with him. That is how I feel and ultimately, that’s the way we’re going to go forward.”
That faith simply is not being rewarded thus far in 2025, and this is even though the Twins began the year with strong odds (i.e., 55.0 percent) of rebounding to make the playoffs.
Baldelli understands that he's on the hot seat, and he doesn't have much in the way of protection. Beyond the diminishing returns, it's possible (the terms aren't public) that his contract only runs through the end of this year.
As the Twins are already 7.0 games back in what is once again a competitive division, any change they do make would certainly be better made sooner rather than later.
Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
7 of 7
2025 Record: 13-23
Playoff Odds: 7.6 percent
Who here remembers when the Orioles were set up to dominate the AL East for years to come?
It should be all of us, as it was only two seasons ago that the Orioles won 101 games and the division title. And between Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and plenty more talent waiting in the wings, all the pieces were there for a dynasty.
So much for that, though. The Orioles won 10 fewer games in 2024 and this year is quickly turning into an outright disaster. As a result, Brandon Hyde would seem to be on the hottest seat in baseball.
Whether this is actually the case is less certain, as Orioles general manager Mike Elias said in April that he's "very confident" in his manager. And Hyde should not have to shoulder the blame for certain things, including an undermanned pitching staff with an AL-worst 5.53 ERA.
This is nonetheless a team that is calling out for some kind of spark, specifically one that could light up the lineup. Though Anthony Santander is gone, there's too much offensive talent in Baltimore for the team to only be scoring 3.7 runs per game.
The nature of Hyde's contract is unclear, but the Orioles need to be thinking about what is clear: Even with those 192 wins across 2023 and 2024, Hyde still only has a .462 winning percentage as their manager.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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