Ng, 1st woman GM in MLB history, leaves Marlins

Kim Ng is leaving the Miami Marlins after three seasons as general manager.

Ng became Major League Baseball’s highest-ranking woman in baseball operations and the first woman GM in the four major North American professional sports leagues in what was a groundbreaking hire by the Marlins in November 2020.

Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman announced Monday that the organization exercised its team option for Ng to return for the 2024 season but she declined her mutual option.

Sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Marlins offered Ng a contract extension beyond the 2024 mutual option.

“We thank Kim for her contribution during her time with our organization and wish her and her family well,” Sherman said in a statement. “We will immediately begin a thorough and extensive search for new leadership as we plan to continue to invest in the Marlins organization both on and off the field.”

Ng told The Athletic later Monday morning that she and Sherman “were not completely aligned” in their vision for the Marlins’ front office.

“Last week, Bruce and I discussed his plan to reshape the Baseball Operations department,” Ng told The Athletic. “In our discussions, it became apparent that we were not completely aligned on what that should look like and I felt it best to step away.”

Ng, the fifth GM in the Marlins’ history, hired manager Skip Schumaker ahead of this season and oversaw the construction of a roster that went 84-78 this season before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this month in the NL Wild Card Series.

It was the Marlins’ first postseason appearance after a full 162-game season since their World Series-winning 2003 campaign. Miami also reached the playoffs after the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when MLB expanded its postseason format.

“I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Marlins family and its fans for my time in South Florida,” Ng told The Athletic. “This year was a great step forward for the organization, and I will miss working with Skip and his coaches as well as all of the dedicated staff in baseball operations and throughout the front office. They are a very talented group and I wish them great success in the future.”

Ng is expected to be linked to the front office opening with the Boston Red Sox, who fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom last month.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.