Advertisement

Fish fried: Marlins continue shake-up as third base coach gets reassigned

(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)

It's been quite the month for the Miami Marlins. After firing manager Mike Redmond in order to hire general manager Dan Jennings in that role, things have started to spiral out of control.

The club hasn't played particularly well under its new leader, and there was some recent controversy when the players did not attend a team charity event. There's been some speculation that the players' decision to skip the event was a protest of the current state of the club, though none of that has been confirmed.

As if that weren't enough, the Marlins found themselves in another strange situation Tuesday. News initially leaked saying third base coach Brett Butler had resigned from his position, and was no longer a member of the coaching staff. After Butler was spotted in uniform prior to Tuesday's game, it was discovered that he had actually been reassigned to a new position.

It's fairly rare for a team to move coaches around during the season, but the Marlins had a reason to make the change.

So, yeah, that's a little strange. Butler will remain with the club in his new role while Lenny Harris takes over at third base.

While the players haven't made their frustrations public yet, it appears things are getting ugly in Miami.

Based on all the craziness in the past few weeks, it's fair to wonder whether we've already reached that point.

While no player has come out and criticized Jennings' hiring, it would seem the issues started around this time. The club hasn't improved since then, and Jennings reasserted his power with the removal of Butler from the third base position.

[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for even more baseball awesomeness.]

The players may have been angry about the change had Jennings remained in the club's general manager, but now he has a direct impact in the clubhouse, so things are magnified. If the players were already upset about the hiring, none of this is going to help Jennings bring them around.

The Marlins were expected to compete for at least a Wild Card this season, but that's starting to look highly unlikely. It's only May, but the franchise has already resorted to some desperate moves in order to spark a turnaround. You have to wonder where they'll turn next if the club doesn't right the ship soon.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik