Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker on Friday night informed his players that he will not be returning for the 2025 season, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. According to Passan, Schumacher also told the team he would miss the final two games of the season to tend to a family issue.
Schumaker’s exit comes as no surprise. Following the departure of former general manager Kim Ng, who hired Schumaker, and the pivot toward a deep teardown under Ng’s replacement, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, Schumaker’s contract was amended to remove a club option for 2025. This put Schumaker in line to be one of the top managerial candidates available this coming offseason, and now he’s just that.
While his second season in Miami has been a disappointment – the Marlins are 60-100 heading into Saturday’s slate of games – Schumaker’s first season in 2023 was much different. Last year, the rookie manager guided the Marlins to an 84-78 record and a surprise postseason berth – the club’s first playoff trip in a full season since they won the World Series in 2003. For his efforts, Schumaker, in 2023, claimed National League Manager of the Year honors. With two games remaining in the 2024 regular season, his record as Marlins manager stands at 144-178.
Now the 44-year-old Schumaker figures to become a coveted name on the market. Teams with current or likely managerial vacancies include the Cincinnati Reds, where Schumaker spent the final two seasons of his playing career and the Chicago White Sox. As well, there could be forthcoming vacancies with the Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies. Another intriguing possibility is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have missed the postseason for a second straight year. While manager Oli Marmol is under contract through the 2026 season, Schumaker served as bench coach under Marmol in 2022 and spent the first eight seasons of his playing career in St. Louis.
