The Miami Marlins have parted ways with general manager Dan Jennings following a season that saw an unorthodox transition from the front office to the coaching ranks.
Jennings appointed himself interim manager in May to replace Mike Redmond, despite having no previous coaching experience, and led the Marlins to a 55-69 record. Jennings accepted Miami's offer to return to his previous GM role, according to the Miami Herald, but was then apparently told not to report to the team offices, indicating the club had a change of heart.
"We want to thank Dan for his dedication and loyal service to the Marlins organization over the last 13 years," team 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."
The Marlins do not plan to hire a replacement. Instead, president of baseball operations Michael Hill will assume the GM responsibilities.
The relationship between Jennings and owner Jeffrey Loria had been documented as a growing point of contention the past two months, with the pair butting heads over certain personnel decisions. Their soured relationship reportedly began when Jennings went against Loria's wishes and opted to play rookie Marcell Ozuna, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports.
The general feeling around the organization was that Jennings became too close to the players after managing and the transition back to the front office would have been uncomfortable, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
Jennings - who is owed $5.6 million over the next three years - joined the Marlins as vice president of player personnel in 2002 and was named assistant GM in 2007. The 55-year-old took over as GM at the end of the 2013 season.
The firing comes on the heels of Miami's reported hiring of manager Don Mattingly. The former Los Angeles Dodgers skipper is expected to announce a four-year deal with the Marlins following the World Series.
Jennings is the second GM to be without a job Thursday, as the Toronto Blue Jays and Alex Anthopoulos parted ways earlier in the morning.
