Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker will not return to the team in 2025, sources told ESPN. This ends his tenure after two seasons and makes him one of the most coveted free agents this winter.

Schumaker told Marlins players he would not be back next season after their 15-5 win against Toronto on Friday night, sources said. He told the players while informing them that he would miss the last two games of this season due to a family issue.

The 44-year-old Schumaker won National League Manager of the Year last year after leading the Marlins to a surprise postseason berth. When Marlins general manager Kim Ng resigned in October after the team proposed hiring a president of baseball operations over her, Schumaker’s contract was restructured and the 2025 team option was removed from the deal.

Under new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, Miami has since initiated a complete rebuild and traded several integral players from last season’s playoff team, including two-time batting champion Luis Arráez, infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and relievers Tanner Scott and AJ Puk. While Miami has vastly improved its farm system and also added major league-ready talent, the season was very different from last year’s 84-win campaign. Elbow injuries to right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez, plus a back injury to left-hander Jesus Luzardo, left Schumaker looking for some semblance of a rotation as 19 different Marlins have started games.

The Marlins’ 60-100 record hasn’t diminished the baseball world’s opinion of him. Schumaker, who has played 11 seasons as a Major League player, is highly regarded in the industry and is expected to be a top candidate for his other two current management positions at Cincinnati – where he played his final two seasons – and Chicago City. White Sox.

Other teams with unclear managerial futures include the Toronto Blue Jays, the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom Schumaker spent the first eight years of his Major League career. Schumaker spent the 2022 season as bench coach for Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who received a contract extension this spring through the 2026 season. Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s contracts run through the 2025 season, and Rockies manager Bud Black has a contract that is expected to expire at the end of this season.