Marlins fire man who plays team's mascot, Billy the Marlin

— -- MIAMI -- The latest person to be engulfed in the sweeping personnel changes with the Miami Marlins is the man who plays the team's mascot.

News outlets report that John DeCicco, who has appeared as Billy the Marlin at home games for more than a decade, was fired this week. The team confirmed the termination Tuesday, saying Billy the Marlin will remain the team's mascot but with a different person in the costume. Team officials didn't give a reason for the firing.

The Marlins have fired a number of executives and traded some of the team's best players -- including Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon and Christian Yelich -- since a new ownership group led by CEO Derek Jeter took over last fall.

The Associated Press couldn't find a telephone listing for DeCicco in a public records search.