Even before the 2024 MLB season began, it became evident that Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker wouldn’t be returning for another year. As Schumaker emerges as one of the top MLB manager candidates this offseason, the Marlins coaching search is taking them in another direction.
In November 2023, Miami hired Tampa Bay Rays general manager Peter Bendix to take over as the Marlins president of baseball operations. It became clear soon after that Schumaker wouldn’t stick around much longer with the team, just one of many sweeping changes that would come for the organization.
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The change at the top of the front office included how Miami approached the 2024 season, resulting in trades involving Luis Arreez, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and many other key contributors on the Marlins roster. A change to the team’s coaching staff is next and there are already plenty of MLB rumors circulating regarding Schumaker’s replacement.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Miami is eyeing Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz as a top option to replace Schumaker as the Marlins manager in 2025 and beyond.
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Unsurprisingly, Bendx has ties to Albernaz dating back to their time in the Rays organization. Albernaz, who turns 42 on Oct. 30, began his coaching career with the Princeton Rays, part of the Appalachian League in 2015. He then became a third base and catching coach for the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Rays, ahead of the 2017 season.
The Rays gave him more responsibilities over time, making him the manager of Hudson Valley and then the Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2018. The following year, Tampa Bay made him a minor league field coordinator before he joined the San Francisco Giants (2020-’23) as a bullpen and catching coach.
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Similar to the Chicago White Sox, Miami will likely have to focus on managerial candidates who are willing to join a team in the early stages of a rebuild. Because of that and his ties to the organization, Albernaz does make sense as one of the top fits for Miami.