Marshall Jennings has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of Roger Dean Stadium and General Manager of the A-Advanced Florida State League Palm Beach Cardinals. Jennings reports to Joe Pinto, RDS GM and replaces Shawn Gelnett, who left during the summer.
A top-notch facility, Roger Dean Stadium houses the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training as well as the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League along with Palm Beach.
The Marlins first came to Roger Dean Stadium in 2002 when they replaced the Montreal Expos. The Cardinals have been there ever since the stadium’s opening in 1998, when they relocated from their long-time spring home in St. Petersburg.
The Jennings announcement alone isn’t all that noteworthy, as personnel changes in minor league clubs occur all the time. Yet this one is more interesting than most due to the individual’s background.
I don’t recall having ever seen a groundskeeper promoted to general manager before.
From the RDS website:
Marshall began working at Roger Dean Stadium in 2002 as the Assistant Facilities Manager before taking over the Facilities Manager position in October of 2003. His job is to oversee all baseball fields, grounds and landscape maintenance at Roger Dean Stadium.
Jennings arrived at RDS via Tulane University, where he was the Director of Athletic Fields. The 1999 graduate of Mississippi State University with a B.S. in Plant and Soil Science/Golf and Sport Turf Management worked at the MSU golf course in college and interned at Disney’s Wide World of Sports during the Atlanta Braves Spring Training of 1999.
In his spare time, Jennings enjoys watching baseball and football. Marshall resides in Jupiter and owns a hyperactive pug named Kramer.
Something You May Not Know: Jennings played two years of college baseball at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., before transferring to Mississippi State.
Best wishes to Mr. Jennings in his new endeavor. It looks to be a good career growth assignment!
Let me give you the take on this from someone not familiar with the inner workings. First, the GM job was not technically a promotion because Jennings did not move from a lower to a higher position within the same organisation. He worked for RDS in what sounds like an administrative position. Now, he has been hired by the Cards as a part time GM, while continuing to work part time for RDS as asst GM. I have no idea what the GM of the PB team does, probably paper shuffling. If it involves personnel decisions, like a MLB GM, or executive decisions, like BDW III, please enlighten me. If Gelnett had been a full time employee (which would be interesting to know), then it looks like a cost cutting move, maybe like the cancelling of the instructs. For Mr. Jennings it sounds like a great opportunity, good luck. Remember, this is just my impression, I don’t claim to know what I’m talking about.
With no activity from Brian yet today I’ll bet he’s working up a doosy of a post on the Cardinal’s recent roster moves!
Hope you are right CC. Some kind of strategery is going on. I never paid much attention to these kind of moves after the season. I’m figuring BW will lay it out and others will debate the hidden agendas and mystical reality.
Very well said bb. A good summary of what happens on this site with most topics.
I have been very busy here in Arizona. Did six interviews today with four more tomorrow. Jeff Luhnow was kind enough to give me 45 minutes of his time. Gonna take a bit of time to work them through the pipeline… Hope you are Scout subscribers…
During the season, pitching coach Dave Duncan expressed concern to The Post-Dispatch about a disconnect between the major-league staff and the minor-league staff, particularly when it came to establishing a way to develop pitchers and a philosophy of instruction. Luhnow said these moves were not inspired by those comments or Duncan’s concern, but there will be an attempt this winter and throughout next season to “bridge any gap that may exist.”
Who is the design engineer on this bridge building project then? Sounds like Jeff had some moves made for him by a DD surveying crew. The front office is gaming already which is a bad sign. The denial by BD and the rumoring of a 6/96 offer is a myth. They might have hinted that number to Matt, but would never have bothered at this point talking to Boras. They will make an official offer on paper with a deadline which will be the end of their private negotiating window. That number will probably be it. If they don’t put it on paper, Holiday will never even evaluate it as Scottie won’t be obligated to even tell him.
Think of the rule 5 logjam if they hadn’t boiled a few eggs.
Well, Brian said he interviewed Luhnow for 45 minutes. I can’t imagine him pitching softballs for that long, so we should get some revelation. On the other hand, a couple of curves or a high hard one probably would have made for a shorter interview.
Yes, we discussed the Duncan impact a couple of different times in different contexts. Don’t mean to tease, but have a lot to do…
Do realize that none of the pitching coaches are from outside the organization. Same guys with different assignments. My first view of details now posted on Scout.