The Marlins, "under orders" from Owner Jeffrey Loria, are making "sweeping changes to the team’s baseball operations, from player development and scouting, all the way up to the front office," according to Clark Spencer of the MIAMI HERALD. Whether any of those changes involve GM-turned-manager Dan Jennings "remains to be seen." Sources said that the relationship between Jennings and Loria "has become increasingly strained over the course of the team’s disappointing season." Jennings "could return to the front office, but not necessarily" as GM. Jennings has also "been mentioned as a possible candidate" for the Mariners’ GM vacancy, though the club has "not yet asked permission from the Marlins to speak with him." A source within the Marlins organization said, "Everybody’s on pins and needles" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/2). FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal writes history shows "anything is possible with the Marlins" under Loria. Adding to the "uncertainty: The power dynamics within the organization have shifted since Jennings left the front office to become manager." Loria "routinely sours on his managers; his next one will be the Marlins’ eighth in the past 11 seasons." Sources said that Loria's relationship with Jennings, which "once was quite close, deteriorated as the team struggled." Meanwhile, sources added that GM Mike Berger and other Marlins officials "have sought to expand their influence ... creating the potential for a power struggle if Jennings returns to his previous role." However, one source "downplayed that possibility." That source said that any tension within the organization "reflects nothing more than the frustration of a disappointing season" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/2). ESPN’s Eric Wedge said Jennings should be retained as the GM because he "answered the call this year to go down to the dugout." Wedge: "Go back to GM, and hopefully they can hire a good manager” (“Baseball Tonight,” ESPN2, 9/2).
