Fredi Gonzalez won 87 games with a team that makes a few sheckles above minimum wage and is considered one of the better managers in baseball. So it makes perfect sense that he’s rumored to be on his way out:
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is said to be less than satisfied with his team’s standing, and in a fairly shocking development is apparently considering replacing well-regarded manager Fredi Gonzalez, who has been widely praised for his performance this season. The Marlins are 87-74 under Gonzalez despite a league-low $36 million payroll, but people familiar with the situation say Loria believes the team is good enough to have made the postseason.
I can’t at all feature the Marlins hiring the guy. In addition to the fact that Gonzalez is a good manager, he’s under contract for two more years at what I can only assume is a much lower price than what Valentine would ask for even one year. And sure, it’s possible that Valentine has undergone a sea change in personality during his time in Japan, but he never struck me as the kind of guy who would thrive in a low-resources kind of environment like Florida.
The same article has the Indians and Nats interested in Valentine as well. Neither of those seem like great fits for the guy -- the Indians less so than the Nats -- but at least they have job openings.