On Oct. 3, Kim Ng stood behind the batting cage at Citizens Bank Park watching the Miami Marlins take batting practice before their playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies. She seemed at the apex of success, chatting with longtime colleague and Hall of Famer Joe Torre and Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. There was much to celebrate.
For the first time since 2003, the Marlins were in the postseason following a 162-game season, and Ng's choices had propelled them to this moment. The players she had acquired had thrived, and Schumaker, the manager she hired, became a front-runner for NL Manager of the Year.
By any objective measure, 2023 was a strong year for the Marlins' franchise, and for Ng. But it was not enough, apparently, to convince Marlins owner Bruce Sherman to keep the executive who fostered that success. Instead, after Sherman informed her that he intends to bring somebody else in to run the baseball operations for his franchise, Ng declined her side of the mutual option, as well as a one-year extension of her contract.
Sherman's decision was met with dismay by some within the Miami organization. "There are a lot of unhappy people," one source said.
Ng, 54, was hired for the Marlins in November 2020 by former Miami president Derek Jeter, who knew Ng from their days in the Yankees' organization. She inherited a team coming off a postseason appearance in the shortened 2020 season (a 3-0 sweep to the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS), though Miami hadn't made the postseason in a full season since it won the World Series in 2003. Cleaning up some of the organizational dysfunction that existed within baseball operations fell to Ng. In her first two seasons, the Marlins finished fourth in their division, behind two of the best organizations in the sport, the Braves and the Phillies, as well as the Mets, who in 2023 became the highest-spending team in history. The Marlins had losing records both years. The following offseason, her third year in the job, Ng aggressively attacked the Marlins' perceived weaknesses.
Looking to upgrade the offense, Ng dealt from a wealth of pitching and swapped Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez, shifting Jazz Chisholm to the outfield to open an infield spot for Arraez. The Marlins' new second baseman would go on to flirt with a .400 average before finishing 2023 with a .354 average, best in the sport. Ng hired Schumaker, who has a reputation for detailed preparation, and Schumaker quickly established himself as one of the best young managers. At the All-Star break, the Marlins were 53-39 despite the fact that their ace, reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, struggled in the first half.
The Marlins lost the first eight games after the All-Star break, and some rival executives speculated that Ng would follow the same path of many of her Miami predecessors and dump salary near the deadline. Instead, Ng augmented the roster -- with Sherman approving significant midseason expenditures, Ng traded for Jake Burger and Josh Bell to fortify the offense, and the Marlins surged their way into the playoff field -- the franchise's first full-season playoff berth in two decades.
But Sherman, who is expected to meet with reporters this week, might have already made up his mind to jettison Ng out of her role at the top of Miami's baseball operations. In 2017, Sherman had bought the team for $1.2 billion, a surprising price tag for a franchise that had never consistently connected with the Miami community. Jeter was part of that ownership group and immediately took over as president, and some of Sherman's peers among the owners say Jeter's presence was part of the appeal of the purchase.
It was no magic salve, however. The Marlins continued to struggle on the field, and the team's attendance continued to lag. In conversations with other owners, Sherman expressed dissatisfaction with Jeter's work. Jeter resigned near the start of the 2022 season, with sources saying Jeter had expected Sherman to be more willing to spend. Other owners believed that if Jeter hadn't resigned, he would have been fired, because of Sherman's unhappiness.
Since then, many of those brought in by Jeter have left the Marlins, and sources within baseball say they believe Sherman has been intent on removing many of Jeter's hires. Earlier this season, even with the Marlins playing well, rival executives speculated that it might not matter -- Ng, they believed, was on the hot seat and in danger of being fired at season's end.
This situation is not without precedent. In the summer of 2015, Red Sox ownership hired David Dombrowski to take over baseball operations, effectively removing Ben Cherington from power. The Boston Red Sox had won the World Series less than two years before, and there was more talent coming; Cherington had overseen the development of a wave of prospects fronted by Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. But Boston owner John Henry was enamored by Dombrowski's track record of success, and when the displaced Cherington was presented with the option to continue as Dombrowski's assistant, he decided to leave. He was subsequently hired to run the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Last year, James Click was the general manager of the Houston Astros as they made their championship run. But all summer, Houston owner Jim Crane expressed dissatisfaction about Click to some of his peers, and at the trade deadline, Crane sided with manager Dusty Baker in declining a deal for veteran catcher Willson Contreras; Baker wanted to continue to use Martin Maldonado. After the Astros won the World Series, Crane offered Click a one-year deal, which Click correctly interpreted as a vote of no-confidence. Click rejected the offer, before eventually joining the Toronto Blue Jays.
Whenever the decision was made, Ng is now unemployed -- but probably not for long. Multiple sources around baseball said she raised her stature in the game during her tenure with the Marlins. "No doubt," said one high-ranking executive with another team. "She did a great job for them."
Said another: "She will be a GM again, if she wants that."
Boston is currently searching for a replacement for Chaim Bloom, and one organizational source said the Red Sox will add Ng to their list of candidates. The San Francisco Giants appear to be entering a period of evaluation for their front office: Farhan Zaidi, the head of baseball operations for the Giants, has one year left on his contract while under internal and external pressure to improve the team.
As for the Marlins, the ripples from this decision might continue to affect the franchise next year. The contract that Schumaker signed with the Marlins covers two seasons -- 2023 and 2024 -- and moving forward, the Miami manager will be working for someone who didn't hire him, before his deal expires next fall. In a year, Schumaker could be among the most coveted free agents, perhaps to be pursued by another general manager with another team -- maybe Ng, this time with another franchise.