Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt fired general manager Paul DePodesta on Saturday.
The team sceduled a 5 p.m. news conference to announce the move, first reported by Los Angeles newspapers and also confirmed by ESPN.
Earlier in the week, Orel Hershiser, one of the key members of the 1988 World Series championship team, became the sixth candidate to interview for the vacant manager's job. In a sign of pending trouble, Hershiser met with McCourt and adviser Tommy Lasorda, but not DePodesta, The Los Angeles Times reported.
McCourt hired DePodesta, then 31, after buying the team in January 2004. The Dodgers won the NL West title in his first season, but DePodesta riled fans by trading popular catcher Paul Lo Duca and two other players at midseason.
DePodesta had three years left on his contract.