Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are the latest MLB team to unveil their new City Connect uniforms for the 2025 season.

In a video unveiling the uniforms, the Marlins tout their new look as a blend of the franchise's past, present and future, as well as honoring the diverse cultures within the city of Miami.

The Marlins will don their City Connects for the first time on Saturday against the Athletics.

This marks the second City Connect uniform for the Marlins. The first one, which debuted in 2021, paid tribute to the Cuban Sugar Kings, a Triple-A affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds from 1954 to '60.

Miami's new City Connects are described as a "Retrowave" that honors the organization's history in the city, while also looking ahead to the future.

"Our new Retrowave uniform combines the Marlins’ rich history with an innovative, forward-thinking approach that mirrors our organization’s trajectory," Marlins president of business operations Caroline O’Connor said. "We aimed to celebrate our club’s storied past and special moments made in the teal, while looking forward to a bright future, all woven in a style that embodies the spirit of South Florida."

The Marlins are the sixth team that has debuted an updated City Connect uniform so far this season. They join a group that includes the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox.

Teams are allowed to cycle in new City Connect jerseys every three years as part of MLB's agreement with Nike. The Marlins are one of seven teams that will have released two versions, with the Los Angeles Dodgers being the first one to do so last season.

The only teams that do not have a City Connect uniform are the New York Yankees and Athletics. The Yankees only recently allowed players to have facial hair, so it's probably going to be a long time before they agree to make any changes to their uniforms.

The A's don't really have a city right now, making it difficult to have a City Connect uniform. They are playing home games in Sacramento for at least the next three seasons with the goal of moving to Las Vegas for the 2028 season.

Miami will wear its new City Connect uniforms for every Saturday home game the rest of this season starting this week.

The Miami Marlins have traded left-handed starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo to the Philadelphia Phillies for two minor leaguers, shortstop Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd, the team announced Sunday.

The Athletic's Matt Gelb was first to report the news, with MLB.com's Mark Feinsand adding that minor league catcher Paul McIntosh is included in the trade package going to Philly.

The 27-year-old Luzardo went 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA (1.25 WHIP) over 12 starts of an injury-shortened 2024 season. He landed on the injured list since June 22 with a lumbar stress reaction and unfortunately never returned.

Luzardo has been brilliant at times, but he's ultimately had an up-and-down career. Injuries have played a big part, with a strained left rotator cuff (2019), a fractured pinky finger (2021) and left forearm strain (2022) hindering him along the way.

He's only started more than 18 games once in a season (2023) but did well, going 10-10 with a 3.63 ERA and 208 strikeouts during that campaign. That performance showcases why teams have had interest in Luzardo for quite some time.

This past May, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and The Athletic reported this on Foul Territory (3:10 mark).

"Luzardo to me is the single-most likely player to be traded," Rosenthal said. "The Marlins are going to keep going. They traded [Luis Arráez], they are going to trade Luzardo as long as he stays healthy. He had that little flare-up physically earlier, but he's gone."

Unfortunately, Luzardo ended up on the injured list a short time thereafter, but trade rumors sparked up again during the offseason, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network as well as Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.

Per The Athletic:

"The Miami Marlins are open to trading left-hander Jesús Luzardo, according to sources briefed on their discussions. MLB Network's Jon Morosi mentioned Monday that Luzardo was drawing interest.

"Luzardo, 27, is projected to earn $6 million in arbitration, which would make him the second-highest paid Marlin after righty Sandy Alcantara.

"But like Alcantara, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Luzardo's trade value might be higher at the deadline, as long as he establishes that he is healthy. He did not pitch after June 16 last season due to a lumbar stress reaction.

Luzardo, who is not eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season, spent his first three seasons (2019-2021) with the Oakland Athletics. The A's then dealt Luzardo for outfielder Starling Marte before the 2021 trade deadline.

If Luzardo regains and maintains that 2023 form post-injury, then he's a great addition for his new team. The Phillies already had a rotation that included Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.

As for the Marlins, they just appear to be in perennial rebuilding mode, and dealing Luzardo now and top hitter Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres earlier in 2024 signals another reboot.

Clayton McCullough will be tasked with leading the Miami Marlins in 2025 and beyond as they continue to rebuild their franchise.

Per ESPN's Alden González, the Marlins have hired the former Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach to be their new manager.

Miami's managerial position opened up after the final day of the 2024 regular season when it was announced that Skip Schumaker would not be returning.

Schumaker's move was telegraphed very early in the season when it was reported in April that he requested to have his team option for 2025 removed from his contract. The Marlins acquiesced, giving him the ability to become a free agent at the end of the year.

There was optimism during Schumaker's first season as manager in 2023. He led them to an 84-78 record and a surprise playoff appearance as a wild-card team. The 44-year-old earned NL Manager of the Year honors.

The bottom fell out in Miami during the 2024 campaign. The Marlins traded Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres on May 4 in what turned out to be the start of a fire sale. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Tanner Scott, Trevor Rogers, Bryan De La Cruz, Josh Bell and A.J. Puk were all dealt away prior to the trade deadline.

Those moves did help the Marlins restock their farm system with 15 new players, including nine who made their top-30 prospects list on MLB.com.

B/R's Joel Reuter still has Miami's system ranked as the 20th-best in MLB, with the implication being all those trades brought back a high quantity but not a lot of impact players.

There is also the question of how much investment Marlins ownership will put into making the team better. Things figure to improve next season because it's hard to be worse than their 62-100 record, especially with 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara on track to return after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2023.

This is a difficult job because of the severe financial limitations imposed by ownership. It's not impossible to navigate, but McCullough has his work cut out for them to get the Marlins back to respectability.

McCullough has plenty of coaching experience going into his first stint as a manager. The 44-year-old has worked in the Dodgers organization since 2015 when he was brought in as a minor league coordinator.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hired McCullough to be his first base coach prior to the 2021 season. He has served in that role for the past three years, winning a World Series title in 2024.

McCullough had a brief playing career as a 2002 draft pick, reaching the Triple-A level before retiring at the end of the 2005 campaign. He returned to professional baseball in 2014 working in the minor league system for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The East Carolina alum started as a hitting instructor with Toronto's rookie level club before working as a manager for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, Lansing Lugnuts, Dunedin Blue Jays and Vancouver Canadians.

That experience working with young players will serve McCullough well because the Marlins are starved for coaches who can develop talent. Their future success depends entirely on maximizing all of the players they have added to their farm system via the draft, international free agency and trades.

McCullough is coming from the best organization in baseball at developing talent. He can fill out his staff with people from the Dodgers to help get good results from the prospects in Miami's system.

The Miami Marlins have narrowed down their search for a new manager to Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable, according to MLB reporter Craig Mish.

The Marlins and former manager Skip Schumaker agreed to part ways in late September.

"After several constructive conversations with Skip, [president of baseball operations] Peter [Bendix] and ownership, we have mutually agreed to part ways, and Skip will not be returning to manage the club next year," Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in a statement at the time. "The Marlins will immediately begin the process of searching for the next leader to serve as our new field manager."

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Venables was interviewing for the job on Monday, and that he was also a finalist for the Chicago White Sox's managerial vacancy.

Schumaker went 146-178 overall in two seasons with the Marlins, surprisingly leading them to the postseason in 2023 before regressing in 2024, going an NL East-worst 62-100.

"It has been a tremendous honor serving as manager of the Miami Marlins," Schumaker said after parting ways with the team. "I've built long-lasting friendships with the staff and players and am proud of all that we accomplished together. I am grateful to Bruce Sherman, as well as the entire Marlins organization and the fans for their support during my time in Miami, and I'll always cherish our 2023 playoff season."

Miami promptly didn't renew the contracts of a number of the coaches on Schumaker's staff. That followed sweeping changes to the front office in August.

As for the candidates to replace Schumaker, the 41-year-old Albernaz spent a number of years at the minor league level before being hired by the San Francisco Giants to serve as the bullpen and catching coach in 2019. The Guardians hired him as the bench coach in 2023.

Venable, also 41, is a former MLB player who served as a special assistant to Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein in 2017, a first base coach for the team in the 2018-19 seasons and the third base coach in 2020.

Ahead of the 2021 season, he was hired as Alex Cora's bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, serving in the role for two years before being hired to serve as the associate manager in Texas under Bruce Bochy ahead of the 2023 campaign.

It turns out the Miami Marlins' offseason overhaul is even more dramatic than initially believed.

After it was previously reported Skip Schumaker's entire coaching staff was being let go after the manager left at the end of the regular season, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal noted the Marlins have parted ways with more than 70 staffers.

Per Rosenthal, more departures are possible with some employee contracts set to expire on Oct. 31.

Schumaker's contract expired at the end of the regular season after he requested early in the year to have his 2025 team option removed. The 44-year-old earned NL Manager of the Year honors in 2023 after leading the Marlins to an 84-78 record and a playoff berth as a wild card.

The Marlins are now in a position where they will have replaced their general manager and manager in the past 12 months. Kim Ng, who was hired as GM in November 2020, left at the end of last season after declining her option due to differences in philosophy with team owner Bruce Sherman.

Former Tampa Bay Rays executive Peter Bendix was hired as Miami's president of baseball operations in November 2023.

While it's not uncommon for a team hiring a new manager to let some coaches go because the new skipper will want to bring on their own people, this is an extreme example of it.

Rosenthal noted one team official said these moves are being done to "reset and restructure" the baseball operations department, not in an attempt to cut costs.

Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base reported on Wednesday that the Marlins have interest in bringing back bench coach Luis Urueta and first base/outfield coach Jon Jay, but they will also leave it up to the new manager to hire them.

Urueta and Jay will also be able to interview with other teams for a job rather than wait to see what the Marlins are going to do.

The Marlins finished the 2024 season with a 62-100 record. The Colorado Rockies (61-101) and Chicago White Sox (41-121) were the only teams with a worse record.

Four days after confirming Skip Schumaker wouldn't be returning to manage the club in 2025, the Miami Marlins are going to have an all-new coaching staff next season.

The Marlins announced on Wednesday that none of the coaches from Schumaker's staff were being retained, but there could be interest in bringing a couple of them back if the new manager wants to add them to their staff.

Bench coach Luis Urueta, first base/outfield coach Jon Jay, hitting coach John Mabry, assistant hitting coaches Bill Mueller and Jason Hart, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr., third base coach Griffin Benedict, infield coach Jody Reed and bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda were among the members of the Marlins' 2024 staff.

Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base reported on Wednesday that the Marlins would be interested in a reunion with Urueta and Jay, depending on what the new manager wants to do.

After being one of the best feel-good stories in Major League Baseball during the 2023 season that resulted in a surprise playoff appearance, things quickly went south for the Marlins.

Kim Ng stepped down as general manager in October 2023 because the team wanted to hire a president of baseball operations who would have more control over the front office and roster than she did, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Schumaker's exit was telegraphed in April when he requested to have his team option for 2025 removed from his contract, giving him the ability to pursue another job this offseason if he wanted to leave Miami.

During the season, the Marlins traded away Luis Arráez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Tanner Scott, Bryan De La Cruz, Josh Bell, Trevor Rogers and A.J. Puk.

After all of the trade-deadline moves were accounted for, the Marlins had an active payroll of $13.8 million. Their total payroll allocations for the 2024 season were $97.5 million, 27th in MLB.

The Marlins wound up finishing 62-100, their first 100-loss season since 2019. They have made the postseason just twice since winning the 2003 World Series.

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.

The Miami Marlins reportedly told starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara that they will not deal him this upcoming offseason, per Craig Mish of Sportsgrid, who provided more information.

Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young winner and a two-time All-Star, has missed the entire regular season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He is on a $56 million deal that runs through 2026 at minimum (and 2027 if the Marlins pick up a $21 million team option).

Miami is going through yet another rebuild as the team scuffles through a 45-75 season, sporting the third-worst win-loss mark in baseball.

The Marlins have already traded relievers Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing and A.J. Puk, infielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Luis Arráez, starting pitcher Trevor Rogers and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz this year. So it's clear the team is breaking down in hopes of building back up someday. The farm system certainly benefitted, with the Marlins now ranking No. 11 on the latest Bleacher Report list from Joel Reuter.

But frankly, it wouldn't make much sense for the Marlins to trade Alcantara, a bona fide ace when healthy. He's under team control for as many as three years and inked a team-friendly contract too.

It's conceivable that the Marlins change their tune somewhere down the line in the life of Alcantara's contract, but for now, Miami appears to be making a good decision in keeping him in town and hoping that he can reclaim his past ace form.

The Miami Marlins have traded first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Marlins will receive cash considerations.

The deal comes after Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker suffered an oblique injury, as noted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Bell had also recently been placed on waivers, per Robert Murray of Fansided.

Bell experienced a career rejuvenation in Miami after the Cleveland Guardians traded him to the Marlins on Aug. 1, 2023. The left-handed slugger hit 11 home runs alongside 26 RBI and an .818 OPS in 53 games.

However, the 2024 season has been a struggle for Bell, who has just a .239 batting average with 14 home runs in 104 games.

Still, Bell was expected to be on the move, per a June 16 report via USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

"The Marlins plan to trade first baseman Josh Bell but realize they will have to eat most of his remaining $16 million contract," Nightengale wrote.

The 31-year-old's best season occurred in 2019, when he smacked 37 homers with 116 RBI and a .936 OPS in an All-Star campaign for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bell appeared to be a mainstay in Pirates lineups following his excellent 2019 season, but he was dealt to the Washington Nationals after a tough pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign (.669 OPS).

Bell hasn't reached that 2019 peak since, but his power has led to him becoming a hot prospect at trade deadline in 2022 and 2023.

The Nats dealt him to the San Diego Padres during the 2022 midseason, and then the Guardians moved him to the Marlins this year. Miami proved to be a great home for him as he significantly helped the team make the playoffs.

But this year has been a disaster for the 39-67 Marlins, who sit last in the NL East. Miami already dealt its best player and hitter in infielder Luis Arráez in May, signaling a waving of the white flag early on.

And now Bell is out of town as Miami undergoes another rebuild.

Granted, Bell could have been on the move anyway this offseason. He picked up a $16.5 million player option for the 2024 season but is a free agent after the year. So the Marlins are also wise to gather assets in return for Bell and avoid the risk of losing him for nothing.