The Mariners are back at square one in their search for a new manager, and one of the early names linked to the job is off the board.
Carlos Mendoza, who had surfaced as a candidate for Seattle’s opening, has pulled out of the race and will instead join the Philadelphia Phillies in a much smaller role. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported, "Carlos Mendoza was a candidate for the Mariners' managerial job before withdrawing his name to become the Phillies' third base and infield coach, sources told ESPN,".
That means Seattle will keep looking after dismissing Dan Wilson following the 2026 MLB season, a year that went off the rails after the club fell short of the postseason despite coming one win from the World Series the season before. The Mariners also entered the year as buyers at the trade deadline, but the end result was a 76-86 finish in a division won by the Houston Astros at 81-81.
Mendoza would have brought some recent managerial experience to the table. He guided the Mets to the playoffs in 2024 and into the NLCS before being fired in the middle of the season after New York’s rough start. He wasn’t the splashiest option Seattle could have chased, but he looked like a workable fit for a roster that needs someone to steer it in the right direction.
Instead, Mendoza is headed to Philadelphia to handle third-base duties and work with the infield for Don Mattingly’s staff. For the Mariners, the search continues, and the timeline may be tighter than usual with MLB’s looming lockout on December 1 threatening to shorten the offseason.
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Among the players being floated are Sonny Gray, Shane Bieber, Luis Arrez and Trevor Mahle, each bringing a different kind of appeal and a different kind of question mark. Gray and Bieber stand out for the kind of frontline pitching the Mets could use, while Arrez offers a very different profile at the plate and Mahle brings another layer of rotation intrigue. The bigger question is how much Falveys past evaluations of those players will shape the Mets plan, especially with recent performance and injury history making this a more complicated class than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]