Six months ago Dan Jennings was the Miami Marlins’ GM, five months ago he was the team’s manager, and today he is neither.
The Marlins on Thursday fired Jennings as the team’s GM. He had resumed the role after serving as the team’s interim manager for most of the season (he replaced Mike Redmond in mid-May).
What led the Marlins to dump him as their GM, too? Apparently things soured between him and team owner Jeffrey Loria when Jennings played Marcell Ozuna.
Dan Jennings and #Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria's relationship soured when Jennings played rookie Marcell Ozuna, going against Loria's wishes.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 29, 2015
Ozuna, who was actually in his third season (not a rookie as Nightengale tweeted), was one of the best players on the Marlins in 2014. He was having a pedestrian season in 2015 and got demoted in July. He was recalled in mid-August and posted a .725 OPS that month and an .852 OPS in October.
Ozuna’s demotion to the minors left Marlins players confused and upset with the team. It also led to harsh words from the player’s agent, Scott Boras.
Ozuna had no business being in the minors, and Loria not wanting him playing for the big league club to keep his service time down highlights all that is wrong with the owner.
