Dave Hyde: Ng’s departure leads to more questions for Miami Marlins — but what now?
You can read Monday’s news this way: The Miami Marlins divorced general manager Kim Ng despite strong her organizational work and smart trades that helped create their first, full-season playoffs in two decades.
That’s all true.
So is this: The Marlins parted ways with Ng after her roster scored the fewest runs in the National League, committed the second-most errors, was decidedly average in pitching and the larger organization remained empty of minor-league talent that’s desperately needed.
That’s true, too.
Ng’s departure was an answer that only leads to more questions. Such as: What is team owner Bruce Sherman’s plan? Did he see this playoff run as a one-hit wonder that was going nowhere without more foundational baseball decisions? Can this organization ever get a minor-league pipeline going that way small-payroll teams need?
Making the playoffs is all well and good, Sherman said by not keeping Ng. But making it in a sustainable way would be even better.
The baseball world acted shocked and angry by Ng’s departure. But it’s not a shock, not really, considering Sherman took control of the Marlins from Derek Jeter. And Ng was hired by Jeter. And her contract reached an exit ramp after this season.
“Last week, Bruce and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department,’’ Ng told The Athletic. “In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned.”
Sherman said he agreed to pick up Ng’s one-year option but she declined to return. Maybe he didn’t extend her contract. Maybe he cut her powers. Maybe she has a better offer waiting out there.
The point is, Sherman didn’t want Ng running his team. You can bring up her good work in building the bullpen and trade-deadline moves for Josh Bell and Jake Berger that helped fuel this playoff season.
Or you can say the Marlins playoff run was equally a byproduct of luck as resolve — 33-14 in one-run games? — and has little chance of repeating unless the minor leagues get stocked with talent.
The only certainty is the Marlins will get portrayed as clowns for not bringing back the first woman to run a professional team after it had a playoff season.
“How does a franchise fail to retain not just one, but two highly respected baseball minds with championship pedigrees?” The Athletic article said in pairing Ng with Jeter.
It was easy in Jeter’s case. His championship pedigree was as a Hall of Fame shortstop. As a baseball architect, he was a disaster. His five-year plan to rebuild through the draft delivered one player to this year’s team.
That was Nick Fortes, who hit .204 with six home runs in sharing the catching duties with .191-hitter Jacob Stallings.
Top talent remains missing in the minors, too. The Marlins have one player in MLB.com’s list of 100 top prospects. Right-handed pitcher Noble Meyer, 18, is No. 55. He’s expected to be major-league-ready in 2026.
Moving forward, could Ng solve either the drafts or player development that’s stunting the picks? Or maybe both? When she was part of the Jeter regime that failed?
The next question becomes who Sherman trusts to run the team. Don’t underplay the consul of former Marlins player Jeff Conine. He was part of Sherman’s inner core this year.
The easy answer to solve the Marlins is to spend more. Sherman’s $101.4 million payroll this year ranked a respectable 22nd compared to previous seasons. That is out of 30 teams, of course. But the Marlins will never be able to spend their way to the top.
They have to be smarter at the top. Was this move the start of that? Or just the same-old-Marlins going nowhere?
A couple of weeks ago, the Marlins were basking in good news. Despite no hitting, weak defense, average pitching and a moderate payroll, they made the playoffs.
Despite being ousted in two games by Philadelphia, their season was a success.
Ng helped the Marlins to that good season. Sherman said she wasn’t the person to solve some glaring problems. The question becomes if he’ll fare well or flounder with who he picks to succeed her?