Why Kim Ng Should Get Multiple Job Offers
Kim Ng, former GM of the Miami Marlins (Associated Press)
Kim Ng has more than a few decades experience in the MLB since she started in 1990 as an intern for the Chicago White Sox, then transitioning to an assistant GM for two organizations, the Dodgers and Yankees, that made the playoffs eight times and won three World Series titles during her tenure with each of them collectively. Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter brought Kim to Miami in November 2020 to be the Marlins GM. She got off the tarmac in South Florida to inherit a terrible Marlins roster.
(I’ll put this into context– since the season prior to her being hired was the COVID season, I’m using a three year time period (2018-2020), to demonstrate how bad this Marlins team was.)
From 2018-2020, the Marlins bullpen finished dead last in baseball with a 5.22 ERA, their starting pitching was 17th (4.45 ERA), and their offense was the second worst in baseball and the worst in the National League (83 wRC+). Fast forward to 2023, their offense is 20th (94 wRC+), the bullpen was 21st (4.37 ERA), and their starting rotation finished tied for 8th with a 4.09 ERA. Obviously, Kim Ng was the leader of the baseball ops org, but that doesn’t mean that she deserves 100% of the credit or the blame. You have coaching, scouting, player personnel, and other elements that contribute to the team's success. For this reason, I’d like to single out a few notable things that Kim did which demonstrate her ability as a leader in baseball operations.
1. The Marlins second Playoff berth since the 2003 WS run
Yes, I know that the 2020 Marlins won the Wild Card Series under Don Mattingly before getting swept in the NLDS. Their record was 31-29, with a pythagorean record that indicates a full season would have pushed them out of the playoffs (26-34). The 2024 Marlins team is not going to challenge the Braves or the Phillies without significant changes, but it will probably be the best Miami team since Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and Andrew Miller were coming up (yes, a long time ago).
Marlins Year by Year Performance (Baseball Reference)
2. Built a respectable lineup
Do you notice anything about the top four Marlins hitters this season? They were all acquired by Kim Ng over the last two years. The Jake Burger trade was praised by some and criticized by others, as Burger is essentially limited to a mediocre third base and will likely have to move to first base soon. However, Burger has a legit middle of the order bat and put it on exhibition after the trade deadline, hitting .303 with 9 HR and driving in 28. He also notably only struck out 21.7% of the time– I like that number. Josh Bell seemed to find himself again in Miami, after a few down seasons with Cleveland and San Diego. Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez was also a close to split decision since both have been good. I’d classify the trade as a win for both teams, since the Twins clearly needed Pablo, and Arraez was the spark plug for the Marlins lineup and contributed to their new identity. Jorge Soler was the Marlins comeback player this year, making the NL All Star team after a terrible 2022. All four of these moves are successes, so we can glaze over the $56M Avisail Garcia signing (.215/.260/.316 through the first two seasons of a four year deal).
Marlins 2023 Top Offensive Leaders by wRC+ (Fangraphs)
3. Traded Starling Marte to the Oakland A’s for Jesus Lazardo
Starling was still producing at a high level when he was traded from Miami in June 2021. He had a 133 wRC+ when traded and contributed a 131 wRC+ to Oakland after the trade. Oakland got the production they expected from Marte, while Lazardo was in the middle of a horrible season when he was traded. Pre 2019, he was rated 7th best prospect in the league by Baseball America, and 9th best pre 2020. He also had similar production after the trade, with a 6.87 ERA before the trade and 6.44 ERA thereafter. In the last two seasons however, Lazardo has emerged as a frontline starter with a 3.52 ERA in 50 starts from 2022-2023. In his first full season this year, Jesus struck out 208 hitters over 30 starts and put up a 3.58 ERA. His fastball is up a tick to 96.8 MPH and his famous slider has been dominant. Going into 2024, he will be the Marlins ace with Sandy on the shelf from Tommy John.
Jesus Lazardo, Baseball Savant (MLB)
These three moves show how Kim Ng has improved this roster and provide a forecast for what she could do for another organization if they pull the trigger to hire her. Obviously, she had a previous track record of success with the Yankees and the Dodgers, but now she’s shown she can run and lead a baseball ops department. The Yankees should consider this hire, as should the Red Sox, the Mets, etc. Bruce Sherman seemingly wasn’t willing to offer Kim an extension but that says more about the dysfunction of a team that hasn’t won a division series game in 20 years than it says about the executive who had started to turn the org around in the three years she was there.
*Stats are as of 10/19/2023