The Marlins hired Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as the new Miami manager:

McCullough, 44, spent the past four seasons on Dave Roberts‘ coaching staff in L.A., the last of which ended in a championship. He succeeds Skip Schumaker, who was not brought back at the end of his contract and has since joined the Texas Rangers‘ front office as a senior adviser to president of baseball operations Chris Young.

A career minor league catcher, McCullough managed in the Toronto Blue Jays‘ minor league system from 2007 to 2013, finishing six of those seasons with winning records. He was then hired by the Dodgers as their minor league field coordinator, at which point he worked under current Marlins assistant general manager Gabe Kapler.

ESPN.com

According to the Los Angeles Times:

In addition to his duties as first base coach, McCullough was the Dodgers’ lead outfield coach and responsible for much of their base-stealing strategy. He and Mookie Betts had a good relationship, with Betts calling McCullough “the best coach I’ve ever had” after selecting McCullough to pitch to him in the 2023 home run derby. This year, McCullough was key in Shohei Ohtani’s career-high 59-steal season, going over scouting reports of opposing pitchers’ pickoff tendencies with the $700-million star on a season-long basis.

LATimes.cm

The Marlins owned the second worst base stealing percentage in the NL in 2024, 125 for 168, 74%. The Dodgers led the league at 86% in 159 attempts. Sometimes it’s better to know when to run.

In the end, stealing well does not add that many runs. The Marlins were last in OBP and third from the bottom in slugging percentage. McCullough’s real test will be how he increases those two important measures of offense.