On Monday, the baseball world received the news that Kim Ng wasn’t going to return as Miami Marlins general manager. Despite coming off a postseason appearance, Ng and owner Bruce Sherman “were not completely aligned” on how to move forward together.
When the Marlins hired Ng three years ago, it was a quick process. This time around, there should be many more candidates considered, including those both internally and externally.
Oz Ocampo, Miami Marlins assistant general manager
Just a year or so ago, the Miami Marlins hired Oz Ocampo to be Kim Ng’s right-hand man. Ocampo was best known for his experience in the international market and he was heavily involved in bringing Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez and Luis García to the Houston Astros when they were amateur free agents.
Currently, the Marlins farm system ranks as one of the worst in baseball. If Ocampo gets an expanded role with the organization, that can change through time and he can bring in the right people to work on consistently developing homegrown prospects into stars at the major league level.
Michael Hill, MLB senior VP of on-field operations
Michael Hill had the top Marlins baseball operations job before Kim Ng arrived (his title was president of baseball operations). He led them to the playoffs during the shortened 2020 season, which was his 18th and final season in Miami. He’s very familiar with some of the players and staff who are still with the organization.
Since leaving, Hill has worked in the office of the commissioner. A recent report from the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson mentioned that he would be interested in making a return if the Marlins reached out.
James Click, Toronto Blue Jays VP of baseball strategy
Click’s GM tenure with the Houston Astros ended with him holding up a World Series trophy. Somewhat like Ng, he had a power struggle with the team’s owner (Jim Crane) and left last offseason after turning down a one-year contract offer. Prior to coming to the Astros, Click spent his career with the Tampa Bay Rays, who have set the standard for how to build a consistent contender using player development and analytics.
Click currently finds himself with the Toronto Blue Jays, waiting for his next opportunity to run a baseball operations department. It would make a lot of sense for the Marlins to at least interview him and see whether he and Sherman are a good fit. He also overlapped with Ocampo in Houston, which could help with the transition to a new organization.
Ben Sestanovich, Atlanta Braves assistant general manager
Alex Anthopoulos has built a juggernaut in Atlanta, so his job isn’t coming open anytime soon. That means his top assistants will understandably be tempted to look for opportunities with other teams, the most recent example being Dana Brown leaving to take over as the Astros GM. Maybe Sestanovich follows the same path.
A major key to the Braves success has been developing incredible homegrown players (Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley, just to name a few) and signing them to extensions at the right time. If Sestanovich can bring some of that to the Marlins, they can hopefully compete consistently even without spending a lot of money on payroll.
Eve Rosenbaum, Baltimore Orioles assistant general manager
The Orioles have the top farm system in baseball while also finishing with the best record in the American League. They have developed so many elite hitting prospects, they don’t even have room to play all of them in the majors at the same time.
Someone like Rosenbaum who has been in the middle of a successful rebuild like this makes a lot of sense for the Marlins as well.
Photo courtesy of @OzOcampo/Twitter
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