The Mariners’ search for Dan Wilson’s replacement is taking shape, and the early list points straight toward experience.
Seattle dismissed Wilson in September after a 76-86 season that made the club look far more like a team in need of a reset than one simply stuck in neutral. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, published reports offered the first real peek at the direction the organization may be leaning.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that several candidates with major league managerial backgrounds - Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde, David Ross and Joe Espada - are among “possible candidates who would fit (president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto's) preference for experience.”
MLB.com reported earlier Tuesday that the Mariners had received permission from the Houston Astros to interview Espada. Houston finished 81-81 but still won the American League West, making Espada a rare sitting manager available for a move to a division rival.
The rest of the group comes with plenty of mileage, too.
Baldelli is currently a special assistant to Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. He managed the Twins from 2019-25, guiding Minnesota to 101 wins in his first season and later to its first postseason round victory in 19 years in 2023.
Ross, now an ESPN analyst, spent five seasons managing the Chicago Cubs from 2020-24. He led Chicago to a division title in his first year and also brings championship credibility from his playing days, when he won World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and the Cubs in 2016.
Hyde’s route was a little different. He went straight from the Cubs’ 2016 coaching staff to the Orioles’ manager’s chair and spent seven seasons in Baltimore. That stretch included a rebuild that eventually turned into a 101-win season and an American League East title in 2023.
For a Mariners club trying to get back to the postseason with a roster that already carries meaningful experience, the preference for a veteran manager fits the picture. Dipoto made that clear when he talked about the next step after the season.
“We need fresh thought," Dipoto said at his end-of-season news conference. “We need something new.
It could be a shift in programming. It could be a shift in messaging.
It could be a shift in language. We'll collaborate with whoever our future manager is, and try to find the right person.”
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