It’s been nearly four years since a Major League Baseball team fired a manager mid-season. The last time that happened was in July 2018, when the St. Louis Cardinals fired Mike Matheny after 93 games. Mike Shildt would take over on an interim basis before later getting the full-time job; he would remain in that role until the end of last season.
Teams that have made changes since have waited until the final weeks of the season or the start of the offseason, likely to minimize the organizational upheaval and distraction that comes with firing a manager. Yet unless the practice is completely banned – and why should it be? — it seems like it’s only a matter of time before a manager gets his walking papers before he can switch his office calendar to September.
While no one wants to see another individual lose their job, the possibility is a sad reality of being a big league skipper. As such, we’ve highlighted five managers below who we think could feel their seats warming up over the next two months – and who could well displace Matheny and become the last boxed skipper in the summer. (Note that handlers are listed in ascending order of perceived security.)
Girardi may not have concerns about his job security, but we do. The Phillies have added too many star-level talent to find themselves on the outside looking for another playoff run. Of course, it’s not his fault that he received an imperfect roster, especially when it came to defense and the bullpen; however, it’s rarely a good sign when players openly discuss their team’s low energy levels, nor is it promising for Girardi’s long-term employment prospects that the Phillies have brought in several changes to his coaching staff at the end of last season. The Phillies have been on a downward trajectory for about a month now; if that doesn’t change soon, what might change is who is responsible for creating queues.
Martinez isn’t too far from delivering the 2019 World Series Nationals. Alas, he’s not too far from the end of the guaranteed portion of his contract, which ends with the 2022 season. The Nationals are the one of the worst teams in the majors, and they’re approaching inflection points on several different fronts, including whether to extend or trade star outfielder Juan Soto. They must make similar decisions about their brain trust, especially Martinez and executive Mike Rizzo, whose option calls are due by the All-Star Game. In other words, Martinez isn’t far from learning about his DC future either.
3. David Bell, Reds
If the Reds had been inclined to fire Bell during the season, they probably would have done so by now. Cincinnati started the season with a 3-22 record, after all, giving the front office plenty of time to mull things over. The Reds will have some sort of decision to make on Bell at some point over the next few months as his contract only runs until the end of next season and teams are often reluctant to put their managers in lame situations. .
4. Don Mattingly, Marlins
Believe it or not, Mattingly is the longest-serving manager in Marlins history – and it’s not particularly close. It’s his seventh year at the helm, and he could end the season with at least 400 more games managed than anyone else in the franchise’s existence. So why is he on this list? Because the latest information reported on his contract had it expired at the end of the year. Maybe the Marlins and Mattingly get along; if not, it stands to reason his days in Miami could be numbered, one way or another.
5. Scott Servais, sailors
The Mariners have been one of the majors’ biggest disappointments at the team level. Often teams in this predicament will make a change somewhere in the coaching staff to try to ignite a spark. We assume the Mariners won’t fire Servais just yet — he signed a multi-year extension last September — but if things continue to go south for Seattle, they may have no other choice.