New Marlins manager McCullough explains why he took the job, and Marlins explain the hire

New Marlins manager Clayton McCullough is moving from a team that will pay a single player (Shohei Ohtani) $68 million every single year for 10 years after his contract expires next decade to join a franchise that has $31.5 million in total payroll commitments for next season.

But the smile on McCullough’s face during his introductory Marlins news conference at loanDepot Park on Monday did not suggest this was a man who has qualms about leaving the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, where he served as first base coach, to undertake the Marlins’ umpteenth rebuilding project.

This is a man seemingly invigorated by the challenge of guiding a 100-loss team with a modest payroll.

“Winning the World Series is the ultimate prize in our profession,” he said. “That was really cool. Today tops that. I couldn’t be more grateful for this.”

Why did he want to guide a rebuilding franchise with a low payroll?

“At my core, I always loved player development,” said McCullough, who replaces Skip Schumaker as the 17th person to manage the Marlins. “I would be considered a patient individual... Our job is to be here for the players and raise their game. There is talent here... There are a lot of different ways to win. Because you have a higher payroll doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to win.”

McCullough, the Dodgers’ first base coach the past four years, spoke with Marlins executives at least three times during the process, including a meeting in Jupiter, where he has a home. The emotions started stirring when he drove from Little Havana to Jupiter after a daylong meeting with Marlins executives at the ballpark a couple of weeks ago.

“When I went through [that day], my comfort level with everyone and everything just raised,” he said. “I left that night after dinner driving back to Jupiter, saying, I hope this is something I can get through the finish line and will happen.”

Peter Bendix, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations, said what impressed him about McCullough, 44, is “he’s the perfect fit for our culture. The patience for sure, the consistency, the positivity, the energy and the genuine care for people around them, not just as players but as people.

“He wants to make everyone around him better. He’s such an authentic, down-to-earth person. You ask anyone who works with him, they’re going to tell you the same thing. Those are tremendous leadership traits. Clayton is a winner. He’s won his entire career.”

McCullough, in fact, had a winning record as a manager in six of his seven seasons guiding four teams in the Blue Jays minor league system (2008-2014), going 402-367 overall. He won consecutive championships with Short Season A Vancouver (2012-13), was named the Florida State League Manager of the Year in 2011 and the Northwest League Manager of the Year in 2012.

The Dodgers hired him in 2015 as their minor-league coordinator, and he has been with the organization ever since, never experiencing a losing season and spending the past four years as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ first base coach, a journey that culminated in a World Series title last month.

On Monday, McCullough cited Roberts and former Blue Jays bench coach Luis Rivera as mentors. He observed — and wants to emulate — how Roberts “put the player first and gave the staff autonomy to do their jobs.”

What does he want a McCullough-managed team to look like?

“A team that is ultra prepared and looks at each day as an opportunity to be a little bit better. My goal is to get the best out of every person.”

Born in Oxford, North Carolina, McCullough developed “my love for the game running around the stadium at the University of North Carolina” as a teenager, played high school baseball in Greenville, N.C. and was selected by Seattle in the 47th round of the 1998 Draft. He bypassed signed with the Mariners and instead opted to attend East Carolina, where he played catcher and was named second team All-Colonial Athletic Association.

Cleveland drafted him in the 22nd round in 2002, but he struggled in the minors, hitting .197 in 104 minor-league games over four seasons before moving into the coaching ranks. He spent one season as a volunteer assistant coach at East Carolina before re-joining the Blue Jays organization in 2007.

McCullough spends offseasons at his Jupiter home with wife Jill, daughter Carson, 10, son Kyle (who turns 8 on Tuesday) and daughter Quinn, 5. Other family members in attendance at Monday’s news conference included his father Howard, a big-league scout for 36 seasons, and mother Eva, a retired school teacher whom he thanked for driving him to games and teaching him empathy.

“We’ve in been Jupiter 10 years; it has become our home,” he said. “To have spring training right down the road, sleep in your own bed, those are things I’m excited about and haven’t had the luxury to do in a long time.”

But he said: “I didn’t want geography to be the defining decision point in this. It was more, ‘Do I fit in with the group there? Do I believe in the direction? Is it a place I can be of real value to?’ The geography made it that much more special.”

McCullough previously interviewed for a handful of managerial jobs and was a finalist for the Kansas City job that went to Matt Quatraro before 2023.

The Marlins initially had two finalists for the job – Craig Albernaz and Will Venable. But Venable – who did not receive an offer from the Marlins — agreed to manage the White Sox, and Albernaz removed his name from consideration for both the Marlins and White Sox jobs, opting to remain with the Cleveland Guardians as their bench coach.

The Marlins initially interviewed more than 10 candidates on Zoom before scheduling in-person sessions with Albernaz and Venable. They had to wait until after the World Series for an in-person visit with McCullough, the only other person who interviewed with them in person.

Owner Bruce Sherman said the McCullough hire “just fits. I knew it was right. What stood out to me was character.... The fact he won a ring with the Dodgers wasn’t lost on us.”