Gabe Kapler was let go from his position as manager of the San Francisco Giants a little over a month ago, but he now holds another important position in baseball. Kapler joins the Miami Marlins as Peter Bendix’s assistant general manager. Bendix was hired earlier this offseason as the president of baseball operations. Craig Mish of The Miami Herald broke the story first.
Although the team only finished with more wins than losses in one of Kapler’s four seasons with the Giants, he finished with a 295-248 record. Naturally, Kapler led the team to 107 victories in 2021, but he also presided over some late-season collapses in 2020 and 2023 that cost San Francisco two postseason chances.
Soon after being released by the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of the 2019 season, Kapler was brought on by the Giants to take Bruce Bochy’s place. During the 2018–2019 season, Kapler oversaw the Phillies, leading them to a 161–163 record. But after missing the playoffs in both seasons, he was fired.
Kapler had worked in an MLB front office before taking on the role of manager. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ director of player development. During that time, a number of players who would go on to have a significant impact in Major League Baseball were developed, including Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager.
Under Kapler’s leadership, the Dodgers consistently had one of the best farm systems in the league, but there were also a number of scandals. The Dodgers were notified on several occasions of player sexual assault incidents that went unreported to law enforcement, according to independent investigations by The Daily Beast and The Washington Post. Kapler expressed regret for his part in public after the reports surfaced.
In 2019, Kapler said, “I don’t think that I did enough, and we’ve talked about some of the ways that I could have been better in those situations.” “I regret that a great deal. I accept responsibility for not acting on my wishes to have become more informed and to have been better informed.”
Despite Los Angeles continuing to come under fire for the way it has handled players accused of sexual and physical abuse of women, it’s important to note that no more incidents have been linked to Kapler since he left the Dodgers organization. He hasn’t, however, held a front desk position since.
Despite Miami’s 84-78 record at the end of the 2023 season, ownership told current general manager Kim Ng—the first female head of baseball operations for an MLB team—that they planned to appoint a president of baseball operations, thereby demoting her. Ng made the decision to quit the company rather than stay. Even though the Marlins have one of the lowest ownership groups in the league, Gabe Kapler will now try to assist Bendix in making the team a perennial contender.
