Marlins to hire Don Mattingly as manager

The Miami Marlins have hired former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly as their new manager, Molly Knight of VICE Sports reported Thursday morning.

Mattingly has agreed to a four-year contract with the club, Knight reports. She says that it is thought that the Marlins are waiting until after the World Series to make an official announcement because Major League Baseball generally frowns upon major news events occuring during this time.

Mattingly had been the front runner to become the Marlins' manager ever since he mutually parted ways with the Dodgers following their elimination from the NLCS. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria allegedly hand-picked Mattingly, making it only a matter of time before this news broke.

Mattingly will be the Marlins' 10th manager since 2010. Ownership has been known to have a short leash on their managers. For example, they fired manager Mike Redmond after just 38 games this season when the Marlins went 16-22. He had only been the manager for two full seasons.

The 54-year-old Mattingly and Baseball Hall of Famer has been managing the Dodgers since 2011. He is known as a great communicator, shown specifically when handling players and the overall clubhouse. He was able to make a seamless transition from Jimmy Rollins to rookie Corey Seager at starting shortstop, without much, if any, turmoil.

The Dodgers were successful under Mattingly's leadership, going 446-363 during his tenure. However, the club was unable to advance past the NLCS, even though they made the playoffs in each of the past three years.

Mattingly will have some work to do in Miami. The team went 71-91 last season, good for fourth in the NL East. They are considered a team with lots of young talent in Jose Fernandez, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and others, but have not been able to post a winning season.

As for the rest of the Marlins' coaching staff, it appears that is still up in the air for the 2016 season.

--Devan Fink

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