4 managers most likely to be let go in the 2024 season

Two seasons ago, the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start, with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hoping that promoting Rob Thomson would give the team a necessary jolt.

As it turned out, the Phillies responded, going 65-46 after Thomson took over as skipper. The Phillies snuck into the playoffs as the final Wild Card representative in the National League, and reached the World Series where they were defeated by the Houston Astros.

Rarely do in-season managerial changes have the effect that the Phillies did in 2022. But that doesn’t stop teams off to disappointing starts from trying. And then there are downright awful teams, ones who don’t have any hopes of salvaging their playoff hopes, but feel a change needs to be made just for the sake of switching things up.

With all that in mind, here are the four managers in our opinion that are most likely to be fired during the 2024 season.

Pedro Grifol, Chicago White Sox

The White Sox were shockingly bad in March/April, going 6-24 and looking like they had the makings of one of the worst teams in MLB history. Heads roll in that type of situation, even if the roster in Chicago is so bad that there’s little Grifol could realistically do to improve the team.

This is only Grifol’s second season on the job, and he certainly hasn’t had a fair chance to show what he can do. But the White Sox went 61-101 in their first season with Grifol as manager, and right now, it would be a minor miracle if they were able to win that many games in 2024.

First-year general manager Chris Getz hasn’t had the appropriate time to turn the team around either. One way to buy time for yourself is to make a change at manager, and bring in your own pick while you’re trying to turn over the roster. It feels inevitable that Getz fires Grifol, whether it happens during the season or right after.

Skip Schumaker, Miami Marlins

This one is probably going to be the most surprising name on the list. A year ago, despite posting a -57 run differential, the Marlins won 84 games and made the playoffs for just the fourth time in franchise history. In his first season on the job, Schumaker won NL Manager of the Year.

But as their franchise has traditionally done, the Marlins made sure to get worse after a rare playoff appearance, not better. Kim Ng left as general manager after the team proposed hiring a president of baseball operations that would have been her boss. Peter Bendix filled that role, and hardly improved the team. Jorge Soler departed in free agency, and the major addition the Fish made was signing Tim Anderson to a one-year rebound deal.

When you add in that the Marlins have had disastrous results in terms of pitching injuries, it’s not a surprise that they look like a bottom-five team in the sport through the first month and change of the season.

When Ng departed, Schumaker requested that the Marlins decline his contractual option for 2025, giving him freedom after the season to leave the team if that’s what he wants to do. They appeased him, and it feels like a near guarantee he won’t be back in 2025, particularly given that 2024 seems to be a lost season.

Would it surprise anyone if a dysfunctional organization like the Marlins fired Schumaker during the season so they could say that they broke up with him, not the other way around?

Bud Black, Colorado Rockies

No one is suggesting that Black has been set up for success. The seven-year, $182 million deal that the Rockies signed Kris Bryant to prior to the 2022 season has turned into a disaster. And the Rockies — as has been the case for almost the entire existence of their franchise — have a terrible starting pitching staff.

But this is Black’s eighth season as the manager of the Rockies. They reached the postseason in 2017 and 2018, but have been arguably the worst team in baseball since then. Again, that’s not really Black’s fault. Dick Monfort’s ownership group is happy just participating most seasons, and a sixth consecutive season losing season feels fitting for them.

Part of keeping up the charade that you’re trying even when you largely aren’t is occasionally cycling out managers. The Rockies are off to a disastrous start, and it may just be time for a new voice, especially if you’re an ownership group trying to deflect blame. After the season is more likely for the 66-year-old to be dismissed, but don’t rule out an in-season change.

John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays

Schneider replaced Charlie Montoyo in July of 2022, and was able to guide the Blue Jays to a playoff appearance. Would the Blue Jays go back to that well again if they don’t turn their season around soon?

Under Schneider, the Blue Jays have been swept in the ALWCS in consecutive seasons. They’re under .500 early in 2024, and look unlikely to emerge as a playoff team in a crowded AL East.

Perhaps the Blue Jays decide that this core — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, specifically — aren’t enough to lead them to a title and they consider offers for them this summer. That seems more like a conclusion you come to in the offseason, though, perhaps after riding out the entirety of the 2024 campaign with what appears on paper to be a very talented team.

If the major in-season shakeup isn’t taking a step back, maybe it will be making a managerial change in hopes of getting a 2022 Phillies-esque result.