MLB NEWS

Miami, Mattingly agree to four-year deal; Jennings out

The Sports Xchange

October 29, 2015 at 7:05 pm.

October 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) throws during workouts before game one of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

October 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (8) throws during workouts before game one of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Don Mattingly is changing coasts to become manager of the Miami Marlins after his predecessor in the job was ousted.

The Marlins announced Thursday the firing of general manager Dan Jennings, who moved from the front office to take over as manager in May after Mike Redmond was let go.

“We want to thank Dan for his dedication and loyal service to the Marlins organization over the last 13 years,” Marlins president David Samson said in a statement. “This is the continuation of the restructuring of our baseball operations department and we look forward to moving in a unified direction to reach our goal of becoming a championship-caliber ballclub that our fans richly deserve.”

Mattingly agreed to a four-year deal with Miami and was known to be high on the wish list of owner Jeffrey Loria. Jennings was not part of the interview process with Mattingly and hadn’t spoken with club officials since the end of the season.

Mattingly and the Los Angeles Dodgers parted ways after the playoff loss to the New York Mets, but the Dodgers won the National League West for the third time in his five seasons with the team.

Mattingly will be the eighth manager of the Marlins since 2010. Including interim hires, the longest-tenured manager during that time was Redmond (two seasons).

The Marlins finished the 2015 season with a 71-91 record, including 55-69 under Jennings, who is owed approximately $4.5 million on his contract with the team.

Success in the regular season was no issue for the Dodgers, but Mattingly couldn’t find the right formula in the playoffs, winning only one postseason series in his tenure.
The Marlins are younger and sport a payroll less than one-third what Mattingly worked with in Los Angeles but expectations are high and patience tends to run low with Marlins management.