Fastball

Miami Marlins Hire Dodgers Bench Coach Clayton McCullough as Next Manager

The World Series champion is coming to South Florida!

Brady Farkas

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez (8) celebrates with first base coach Clayton McCullough (86) during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct 30.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez (8) celebrates with first base coach Clayton McCullough (86) during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct 30. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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After weeks of speculation, the Miami Marlins have their next manager.

Per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN on social media:

BREAKING: The Marlins are hiring Dodgers 1B coach Clayton McCullough as their new manager, sources told ESPN.

McCullough, who has spent the last four seasons on Dave Roberts’ staff in LA, succeeds Skip Schumaker in Miami.

The Marlins were the last opening to be filled, so all 30 jobs now have a head man as we move further into the offseason. McCullough is coming off a World Series championship with the Dodgers, so hopefully he can bring some winning ways with him to South Beach.

The Marlins went 62-100 this past season and may seem like a lost cause, but that's not necessarily the case. Miami is built around its pitching and played all of 2024 without aces Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez. Furthermore, they played large portions of the year without Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett. If the rotation is able to stay healthy, the Marlins could be a fringy competitive team in 2025.

Miami last made the playoffs during the 2023 season, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card round. The Marlins have won the World Series twice, back in 1997 and 2003.

The Marlins don't figure to be active in free agency, because they rarely are, but they are a place where players in need of second chances could go to get them. Former Chicago White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada strikes us as a possibility for the Marlins. The upside on guys like that can be hard to ignore and if Miami can secure a few, the 2025 prospects improve as well.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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