After eight years and over 170 roster moves alone in 2020, the Miami Marlins will be parting ways with President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill.
Hill’s contract was at its end. It was a topic of conversation but in the end, Marlins CEO Derek Jeter decided to part ways with Hill. Overall, Hill had been with the Marlins in a front-office role since 2002. That included his most recent role as president of baseball ops since 2013. Hill also served as the general manager for Miami and was one of just two black presidents of baseball operations across Major League Baseball.
Hill’s Moves
Hill made it through several regime changes including the current ownership group. He was the one tasked with trading away several big pieces to bolster up the future of Marlins baseball. That including trading away Giancarlo Stanton, J.T. Realmuto, Christan Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna among others. From those players, Miami earned quite the hall in return. They went from a bottom-five farm system to a top-five farm system in a matter of three years
That helped to lead the Marlins to their first postseason appearance since 2003. Out of the 40 players across the regular postseason roster or taxi-squad, 33 were brought in under the new ownership group. Hill oversaw 61 players on the roster which included 25 rookies. Going further, 18 players had their MLB debuts in 2020.
The removal of Hill now marks three subtractions from the Marlins staff in 2020. Along with Hill, director of player development Dick Scott and minor league catching coordinator Jamie Quirk are all not returning. Jeter had this to say on potential candidates for the open position. “We have a lot of smart baseball minds in our organization, and there are smart baseball minds around the game. We’re going to sit down and see what type of person we need in this role.”
It’s an interesting move for Jeter and company coming off of their best season in over ten years. Through a COVID-19 stricken beginning to the season, Miami ended the regular season with their first winning record since 2009. There was a winning mentality within the Marlins dugout once again but moving forward, it will be without Hill.
The Future Ahead
His departure comes at yet another critical juncture for the Marlins who will have another tough offseason ahead. Led by star players Brian Anderson, Miguel Rojas, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez, there’s plenty of bright spots in the future of the Marlins. It just won’t be with the services of Hill.
Main Image
Embed from Getty Images
