Marlin to retain Clayton McCullough for 2027

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL — On Tuesday, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix announced that the club will be retaining manager Clayton McCullough, making the 2027 season his third with the organization. 

"I think Clayton showed a lot of growth and improvement in the way that a lot of people do in their second year," Bendix said. "Clayton and I are very aligned. Clayton is an excellent representative of the organization and an excellent voice of the organization. He has helped establish a fantastic culture in our clubhouse, he's an excellent communicator and very good at a very difficult job. I'm excited to continue to grow with him."

The Marlins did not comment on whether his contract includes any guarantees beyond next season.

McCullough was hired as the 17th manager in franchise history on November 11, 2024, fresh off winning a World Series title as first base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through two seasons, he has compiled a 159-165 record. His predecessor, Skip Schumaker, parted ways with the Fish after only two seasons, so McCullough will be their longest-tenured skipper since Don Mattingly.

In McCullough's first year on the job, the 2025 Marlins posted a 79-83 record, staying in the postseason race up until the final week of the season. After a 44-51 record in the first half of that season, the team went 35-32 the rest of the way. Their midsummer hot streak was highlighted by a sweep of the New York Yankees following the MLB trade deadline, but they were never able to get over the hump with one of the league's most inexperienced rosters.

Year two of the McCullough experience was even streakier. In June, the Marlins had their best month in franchise history and held a National League wild-card spot at the All-Star break with a 52-45 record. However, a 12-game losing streak that wrapped around the break was too much to overcome. McCullough's record was nearly identical at 80-82, though the Marlins had a positive run differential for the first time since 2010.

The Marlins struggled on the road (33-48) and against teams over .500 (33-50).

A couple of McCullough's in-game pitching decisions stood out for the wrong reasons. The first was against the Cincinnati Reds on April 7, when Sandy Alcantara was removed with one out in the ninth inning and the Marlins leading 2-0. Anthony Bender allowed both of the runners he inherited from Alcantara to score, sending the game to extra innings where the Reds ultimately won. Then there was the July 5 game against the Athletics. Starting pitcher Eury Pérez had thrown seven perfect innings and the Marlins held a comfortable 8-0 lead. Instead of letting him go out for the eighth, the Marlins deployed Lake Bachar, who was not able to record an out, allowing five runs on four hits and one home run. Closer Pete Fairbanks allowed three more runs in the ninth the Marlins narrowly beat the Athletics, 9-8, narrowly avoiding a historically embarrassing collapse.

On the other hand, McCullough also got his starters to buy into the bold strategy of making high-leverage relief appearances in between starts. Alcantara, Pérez and Janson Junk combined for five such outings late in the season and pitched effectively every time.

"I've been able to get in front of things sooner than I could last year," McCullough told Fish On First. "More relaxed in the position, the rhythm of the day, the expectations of the job and familiarity with our entire group. It's allowed me to shift focus at times more to other areas. I think I can always get better at messaging to our players and staff. That's not something that will be different each year...I still realized that I had some shortcomings. I did okay, and I just know that I need to be better next year than I was this year."

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