Marlins hire Peter Bendix to lead baseball operations

The void has been filled. As first reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Miami Marlins have hired Peter Bendix as their new president of baseball operations. The senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager for the Tampa Bay Rays, Bendix informed Rays staffers on Sunday that he's leaving to take the promotion in Miami, per Rosenthal. The Marlins made things official with an announcement on Monday morning.

Bendix spent 15 seasons with the Rays organization. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he attended Tufts University, where he took a course on sabermetrics. He joined the Rays as an intern in January 2009 and worked his way up from there. Bendix's previous titles included assistant of baseball operations, coordinator of baseball research and development, director of baseball development, and vice president of baseball development.

Three weeks ago, the Marlins parted ways with their previous general manager, Kim Ng. In her own words, Ng and principal owner Bruce Sherman were "not completely aligned" on the franchise's future, so she declined her side of a mutual option for the 2024 season. Brian Chattin has been acting as interim GM since then.

Multiple reports confirm that former Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was on the Marlins' radar during the search process. Another ex-Rays executive prior to his Red Sox stint, Bloom declined to interview for the opening.

Bendix does not have any prior history with Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who has one more guaranteed year left on his contract (plus an option for 2025). According to a source, it is not believed that Skip had any involvement in the hiring process.

Bendix is the first Marlins executive to use the "POBO" title since Michael Hill left the organization after the 2020 season. It remains to be seen how much of the Marlins' current staff Bendix intends to retain and who he might hire from the outside to fill out the front office. Presumably, he'll be selecting a GM at some point this offseason to be his second-in-command.

This massive decision comes just ahead of the GM Meetings, being held beginning on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Arizona.