The Mariners are taking their time in the manager search, and that makes sense. This is the kind of hire they have to nail, especially with one of only two open jobs and the Houston Astros’ vacancy having just opened on Wednesday after they moved on from Joe Espada.
Espada is in the mix for Seattle, though that still sounds like a long shot. According to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, the Mariners’ first cut included 40 names, and most of that list has been kept under wraps. Jon Heyman of the New York Post added a few familiar possibilities on Tuesday:
Mariners are casting wide net for their managerial job, a plum job due to talent, city, potential. Joe Espada, Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde, David Ross are among possible candidates who’d fit preference for experience. Seattle received permission on Espada, as @Feinsand said
- Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 13, 2026
Among the names floated, Brandon Hyde stands out.
Baldelli had a solid run with the Twins from 2019 through 2025, finishing with a .511 winning percentage and a high point of 101 wins. Ross, meanwhile, won two World Series as a player and picked up managerial experience over four seasons with the Cubs. But Hyde is the one with the most intriguing case.
He was Mike Elias’ top deputy while Baltimore was climbing out of the basement in the late 2010s and early 2020s, and the ride had its share of extremes. Hyde lived through two 100-loss seasons and one 100-win season. His final record in Baltimore settled at .461, and the Orioles fired him 43 games into his seventh season in 2025 after the slide had already become impossible to ignore.
The context around that Baltimore tenure matters, though. As Jon Morosi said on “Wyman and Bob,” Hyde was never given enough pitching there, and that tracks. Elias put most of the emphasis on developing bats, which helps explain why the Orioles finished in the top half of the American League in ERA only once during Hyde’s run.
Seattle would be a different environment. The Mariners do need to rework their pitching approach, but the raw talent is already in place. Hyde never had to manage a staff like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Emerson Hancock and Kade Anderson, with Ryan Sloan waiting in the wings.
He also handled young hitters well in Baltimore. Gunnar Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year in 2023, while Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser each finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Across 2023 and 2024, Baltimore got a league-best 25.0 fWAR from hitters age 25 and under.
That should matter in Seattle, too. Jerry Dipoto recently hinted that the team is excited about its young hitters in the wake of Randy Arozarena’s likely departure, which points to Colt Emerson, Michael Arroyo and Lazaro Montes in 2027, and possibly Felnin Celesten, Jonny Farmelo and Ace Reese by 2028. There is a lot there, and Hyde has already shown he can steer that kind of group.
He also comes with a fresh year around two more respected voices in the game. After Baltimore, Hyde spent this season as a senior advisor with the Rays, working between Erik Neander and Kevin Cash. Tampa Bay won 98 games and reached the ALCS while operating with the eighth-lowest payroll in the league, another sign Hyde has spent plenty of time around analytically driven baseball.
That part should not scare Mariners fans. After two-plus years of Dan Wilson, they have already seen what happens when a manager is out of step with the modern game. Dipoto even had to set up weekly meetings last winter to get Wilson caught up, and it never really took.
The bigger question with Hyde is how he would land with the veteran core, especially Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor. When those players spoke well of Wilson, they often pointed to his hands-off style. That turned out badly, but the opposite approach from Hyde would not automatically solve everything either.
That is the sort of thing Seattle’s decision-makers need to sort through if they bring him in. But if the Mariners do pursue Hyde, they should. He has real experience, real development chops and a track record that brings enough to the table to make him one of the most compelling names in the search.
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For the Mariners, the search still appears to be in the early sorting phase, with Joe Espada among the names expected to draw consideration. Seattle would prefer some managerial experience, but it is not treating that as a requirement, which keeps the pool open even as familiar, established options start to disappear. [Read more 🡒]
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What gives the interview added weight is the perspective Espada could bring on the Mariners themselves. Seattle is looking at a division rivals former manager and, in theory, getting a read on how another contender has operated from the inside. The lingering question is whether his exit in Houston says more about the person or the place he came from, and that uncertainty is part of what makes this search worth watching. [Read more 🡒]