Aug 21, 2018; Washington, DC, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler (22) looks on from the dugout against the Washington Nationals in the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Geoff Burke
A former Philadelphia Phillies manager is working his way up the ranks of another NL East ballclub's front office.
The Miami Marlins announced Monday afternoon that Gabe Kapler has been promoted to general manager.
We are excited to announce the following promotions within our Baseball Operations Leadership. pic.twitter.com/y7Qkw3dERG
Kapler managed the Phillies for two seasons in 2018 and 2019. He was notorious for his heavy reliance on analytics. In both years, the Phillies maintained good playoff positioning through the summer but stumbled in late August and September. The team's 80-82 record in 2018 and 81-81 record in 2019 kept them firmly out of the playoffs, and Kapler was fired after the 2019 season.
Although he underachieved as the Phillies' manager, the San Francisco Giants named Kapler their manager in 2020. Kapler led the Giants to a 107-win season in 2021 and earned NL Manager of the Year honors.
However, in 2023, Kapler was shown the door yet again. After yet another late-season collapse dropped his team out of playoff contention, the Giants fired Kapler with three games left to play.
Kapler switched to a front office role in Jan. 2024 when the Marlins hired him as their assistant general manager. Kapler's main focus was on player, staff and coach development. He held that role until his Monday promotion.
Kapler answered to Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix as assistant general manager, and he'll continue to answer to him as the sixth general manager in Marlins history. Kapler will effectively operate as Bendix's right-hand man.
As you might recall, Kim Ng was the Marlins' last GM. When the Marlins hired her in 2020, Ng became the first female general manager of a men's team in the history of major North American sports. She led the Marlins to a playoff berth in 2023 (where they were immediately swept by the Phillies in the Wild Card Round), but shockingly stepped down from her GM position later that month.
Reports surfaced that even with the playoff berth, Marlins owner Bruce Sherman planned to bring in somebody else to run the club's baseball operations. Ng declined her side of the mutual option as a result. The Marlins hired Bendix three weeks later.
Now Kapler will assume Ng's old position, but he will serve under Bendix. It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out, especially considering the Marlins' limited financial resources.
