Don Mattingly is out as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mattingly and the front office mutually agreed to part on Thursday as the team that bounced the Dodgers from the postseason, the New York Mets, prepared to represent the National League in the 2015 World Series.
The fact the Dodgers aren’t there — and haven’t been since 1988 — was a factor in the team’s decision to move on from Mattingly, who survived only one year under the new hierarchy headed by Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
According to ESPN, Mattingly was offered a contract extension last week. He has one year remaining on his existing deal. However, Mattingly turned down the new deal, per the report.
Mattingly led the Dodgers to three straight playoff appearances but the team’s total payroll over those seasons was $800 million.
The Dodgers lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2014 and 2015.
With Mattingly out as manager, speculation has quickly focused on him as a prime candidate to become the next skipper of the Miami Marlins.
That possibility surfaced in early September even as Mattingly was leading the Dodgers to their third consecutive National League West title. The former Yankees star first baseman is known to be a favorite of Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, a New York native.
The Marlins have been moving slowly in their search for a manager to replace Dan Jennings, who has returned to his role as general manager. They have interviewed four candidates, but no apparent favorite for the job has emerged, and there have been indications Marlins officials were waiting for Mattingly’s future with the Dodgers to be resolved.
Jon Heyman, of CBS Sports tweeted Thursday, “Marlins have serious interest in Mattingly. Their search appeared to be on semi-hold, waiting for this.”
A year ago, the Dodgers’ failure was almost identical and the front office was overhauled as a result. There are likely to be even more significant changes this winter as Friedman continues to implement his vision.
After the Dodgers were eliminated by the Mets, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was asked if he had confidence the same group of Dodgers could finally get over the hump in 2016.
“If this is the exact same team next year, yeah,” he said. “But I doubt it’s going to be the exact same team.”
The Dodgers won just one playoff series in those three postseasons under Mattingly’s leadership (the 2013 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves).
The Dodgers’ shortcomings in 2015 — a rotation that dropped off severely behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, a thin bullpen and an offense that ran hot and cold — were not necessarily Mattingly’s fault.
Yet, the Friedman-led front office showed no hesitation to move players either and that figures to happen again this offseason.
Most prominently, Greinke can exercise an opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent. Greinke, a NL Cy Young Award candidate, would be forfeiting the final three years and $71 million of his deal with the Dodgers. On the free agent market, however, he would almost certainly be able to double the total amount.