In baseball’s Age of Collaboration, the hot seat for managers should be viewed more as an oversized sofa, with front-office executives and statistical analysts all squeezing in. Firing the manager when others bear responsibility for shaping rosters and influencing decisions often amounts to blatant scapegoating. Perhaps that is one reason early dismissals are becoming less common.
Only three managers have been dumped before the All-Star break since 2018, all in 2022. The Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies went on to reach the postseason after making changes that year, but the trend did not last. Teams take pride in removing emotion from decisions and loathe making moves that can be interpreted as reactionary.
Not that managers are safe — 14 teams, comprising nearly half the league, have introduced new skippers since the end of the ‘22 season. Most of those changes, though, came during the offseason. Clubs that never were expected to contend usually are disinclined to make a change before the All-Star break. Teams with loftier aspirations, though, might view the possibility of cracking an expanded postseason field as justification for a dramatic move.
Here is a look at nine managers whose statuses could be in question, not necessarily right away, but by the end of the season:
Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins
After the Twins stumbled to a 12-27 finish last season, blowing a 92 percent chance of making the playoffs, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said of Baldelli, “I believe in his process. I believe in him. I believe in the partnership I have with him.”
And now?
Falvey, like virtually everyone else interviewed for this column, declined comment, and for good reason. The Twins, fighting declining attendance and trying to sell a new direct-to-consumer streaming product, were perhaps the team most in need of a strong start. They changed hitting coaches. Baldelli took a firmer approach.
Yet at 5-11, their malaise from the end of 2024 has extended into the start of ‘25.
Fans are frustrated with the lack of commitment by the Pohlad ownership. Injuries to third baseman Royce Lewis, right-hander Pablo López and until Sunday, infielder Brooks Lee, are part of the Twins’ problem. But for arguably the most talented team in the AL Central, the injury excuse goes only so far.
With the franchise for sale, the Twins presumably want their on-field product to hold greater appeal. Baldelli is in his seventh season as manager. The end point in his contract is not known. Clearly, though, he needs to win, no matter how close he might be with Falvey.
Oli Marmol, St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals are in an odd place, using the 2025 season to transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom as their head of baseball operations. Marmol, hired by Mozeliak, is under contract through ‘26. It stands to reason Bloom will want his own man. But whom?
Two former Cardinals greats, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, have made no secret of their desire to manage. Both have done it in the Dominican Winter League, and Molina will manage Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Classic team for the second time in 2026.
The Cardinals, though, might not want to choose between two of their legends. And Bloom, after his experience with Alex Cora in Boston, will be especially careful with his choice. Friends of Bloom, who spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for their candor, believe Cora was not as supportive of Bloom as he could have been.
Skip Schumaker, another former Cardinal who was a member of Marmol’s initial staff in 2022 before leaving to manage the Miami Marlins, might be a safer pick. Now working as a senior adviser to Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, Schumaker would be the logical successor to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. But if Bochy, who turns 70 on Wednesday, wants to manage beyond this season, Schumaker might prefer to accept an immediate opening rather than stay off the field another year.
Schumaker is close with Marmol as well as Cardinals coaches Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay, both of whom were former teammates in St. Louis. It is not out of the question that if the Cardinals named Schumaker manager, Marmol could remain on his staff, with Descalso and Jay also staying put. Descalso and Jay were Cardinals teammates with Molina and Pujols as well.
Derek Shelton, Pittsburgh Pirates
Even if Shelton is flawed as a manager, does anyone seriously believe he’s the problem?
The No. 1 problem is owner Bob Nutting, who runs the Pirates on the tightest of budgets. The No. 2 problem, though a good way down the depth chart, is general manager Ben Cherington, who has not produced the pipeline of young talent necessary for a small-market team to succeed.
This is the sixth year of the Cherington-Shelton regime. It will likely be their sixth straight losing season and the team’s seventh straight overall. The Pirates signed Shelton to an extension in April 2023, but did not announce its length. Bench coach Don Kelly, a Pittsburgh-area native, would be the obvious replacement if the team chose to make a move.
Cherington, who did not respond to a text message seeking comment, does not seem the type to turn on Shelton, knowing that as GM he’s the one responsible for dealing his manager a roster of spare parts. Still, Shelton has not extracted the most out of the team’s young hitters, and the Pirates, at times, look rather sloppy. So, in theory at least, upper management might push Cherington to install a new manager.
Nutting seemed to fire a warning shot the day of the team’s home opener, telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I think that I’ve done everything that I can to provide the tools and resources to the team. There is a point where it becomes execution.”
Whether Nutting’s tough talk will translate to action is an open question. Before 2024, Nutting said he expected a “meaningful step forward.” It didn’t happen — the Pirates finished with 76 wins, same as in 2023 — and Nutting brought back Cherington and Shelton anyway. As one former player told The Athletic in 2024, Nutting “is comfortable being mediocre.”
Bud Black, Colorado Rockies
Rockies people think highly of Black, and so do people throughout the industry. Hardly anyone seems comfortable posing the question: As the team skews younger, is Black still the right person for the job?
The Rockies made the playoffs in Black’s first two seasons, 2017 and ‘18. Since then, they’ve endured six straight losing seasons, and at 3-12 are well on their way to their seventh. Black, 67, cannot be blamed for all that failure. The Rockies seem to operate in a separate universe from the rest of baseball. But at some point, it stands to reason the team would benefit from a fresh voice.
Third-base coach Warren Schaeffer, who managed at three levels of the Rockies’ organization from 2015 to ‘22, is the obvious heir apparent. An in-season change seems almost out of the question. There’s no need to humiliate Black, and the Rockies continue to play hard for him. But with Black’s contract expiring at the end of the season, the team will face a decision.
Schaeffer, 40, could be the Rockies’ version of Brandon Hyde, taking over the organization at a low point and growing with his young players.
Dave Martinez, Washington Nationals
The Nationals are an example of how a rebuilding club can descend into a prolonged funk. Since their World Series title in 2019, only the Rockies have lost more games.
Martinez was in his second year as manager in ‘19. COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season. And the Nationals began their teardown in ‘21, trading Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The franchise exists in a state of uncertainty as the Lerner family waffles on whether it wants to sell; the team currently is off the market. The trade of Juan Soto in July 2022 greatly enhanced the club’s foundation of young talent. But if the Lerners again want to compete, they will need to be more aggressive in acquiring established veterans.
The pressure on Martinez, and general manager Mike Rizzo, for that matter, appears minimal. Martinez is in the last year of his contract. The Nationals hold an option on him for 2026. Martinez’s players seem to like him, and they recently took two of three at home from both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Dodgers.
“It’s all positive,” Rizzo said. “He’s a good manager and a good person. He’s doing a good job.”
John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays, off to a 9-7 start, give the look of a team that might be more competitive than expected. They might need to be for Schneider’s benefactors, team president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, to retain their jobs.
Shapiro’s contract expires after this season, Atkins’ after 2026. And, as reported last week, some in the organization are expressing concern to rival peers that the team will need to reach the postseason to avoid a major front-office overhaul.
The Jays hold an option on Schneider for 2026. Shapiro and Atkins previously extended both John Gibbons and Charlie Montoyo at the outsets of their respective contract years. If they have done the same with Schneider, they haven’t announced it publicly.
During spring training, Shapiro told MLB.com that Schneider stood a chance of becoming a, “great, great major-league manager.” That might indeed be the case. But a change in the front office inevitably could lead to a change in manager.
Ron Washington, Los Angeles Angels
Is anyone ever safe under the Angels’ mercurial owner, Arte Moreno?
Washington, who turns 73 later this month, remains as vibrant as ever, despite being the oldest manager in the majors. He also is the Angels’ fifth manager since 2018, and coming off a 99-loss campaign in his first season.
Like Schneider, Washington is working in the last guaranteed year of his contract, with the Angels holding a club option on him for 2026. But Moreno last August extended general manager Perry Minasian through ‘26 with a club option for ‘27. Minasian during the offseason added a number of veterans with winning backgrounds. And Mike Trout, knock on wood, seems almost back to his old self.
The extension for Minasian was a step toward greater stability. The team is off to a surprising 9-6 start. But with the season less than one-tenth complete, it’s too early to declare Washington safe just yet.
Brandon Hyde, Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles ended the 2024 regular season in a 34-38 swoon, then were swept at home by the Kansas City Royals in the wild-card round. Like the Twins, they’ve also started slowly in 2025. But the similarities pretty much end there.
General manager Mike Elias stuck with Hyde when the team began to turn around rather than hire a more proven veteran type. The bond between the two remains close, according to a former Orioles person familiar with their relationship. And while the firings of three coaches at the end of last season could be interpreted as a warning shot to Hyde, Elias surely knows the responsibility for the team’s current shortcomings falls more on him than his manager.
Consider the big picture as well: Since 2023, the Orioles are second in wins only to the Dodgers — and the next closest American League team, the Tampa Bay Rays, is 12 wins behind. But with eight Orioles pitchers currently on the injured list, it’s difficult to build on that success, at least this early in the season.
Zack Britton’s younger brother, Buck, managed many of the Orioles’ younger players at Triple A the past three years before joining the major-league staff this season. He ultimately could replace Hyde, but Elias would be foolish to rush into such a move, particularly when the Orioles’ pitching, hitting and bench coaches all have less than two years of experience in their current roles.
Brian Snitker, Atlanta Braves
He’s not getting fired, no matter how badly the Braves continue to stumble. This is Snitker’s 49th year in the organization. He led the team to six straight division crowns between 2018 and ‘23. And when that streak ended last season, the Braves still made the playoffs, winning more games than they did in 2021, the year they became World Series champions.
The Braves will allow Snitker to determine his own fate. The question is how long he wants to continue. Like Bochy, he will celebrate his 70th birthday this year. He has said he will consider retirement at the end of the season, but has been noncommittal about the possibility.
Fifty years in one organization would be an incredible accomplishment. Snitker can achieve it even if he steps down as manager. The Braves could name him a special assistant, and he probably could hold that position for as long as he’d like — without the daily heartache of managing.
(Top photo of Derek Shelton: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
