The Mariners may have hired Jason Kanzler without a long track record in the dugout, but that doesn’t mean they did it blind.
A Monday report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says Seattle players were part of the final stretch of the manager search that ended with Kanzler getting the job last week. The players involved were, as expected, “veterans who are considered clubhouse leaders.”
Rosenthal did not identify which players were included. The report also does not say those veterans explicitly endorsed Kanzler as the best choice.
In theory, one or more could have preferred Joe Espada and still been overruled by Jerry Dipoto. But that version of events is tough to buy.
If the front office brought players into the process, it’s hard to imagine it then brushing aside their input entirely.
There’s also at least some public evidence that Kanzler is already comfortable around the roster’s biggest names. Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez were seen with him at the Seattle Kraken game last Wednesday, the same day he was introduced by the team.
That matters because the biggest concern around the hire has been Kanzler’s lack of managerial experience at any level of professional baseball. Dipoto had said in September that he preferred to hire someone with experience to replace Dan Wilson, which made Kanzler’s rise feel like a sharp turn. It also fit the pattern of the Mariners’ previous hires: neither Wilson nor Scott Servais had managerial experience when they got the job, and both eventually hit limits in the clubhouse and/or dugout.
The skepticism wasn’t just about experience in the abstract. It was about whether Kanzler could connect with a veteran-heavy roster that includes Raleigh, Rodríguez, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert and others.
That was the part that made the hire feel risky on paper. A.J.
Piezynski voiced that concern on Foul Territory, saying, “You should hire a guy who’s ready to win. Not a guy who needs to learn on the job.”
That criticism still has to be answered by Kanzler once the season starts. There’s no real substitute for managing a 162-game grind, especially with players who already know what major league baseball demands.
But Rosenthal’s reporting changes the conversation around the hire. It suggests the Mariners did not simply hand the job to a first-time manager and hope the room would follow.
They at least checked with the voices that matter most.
That fits with what Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported about the front office’s view of Kanzler. Dipoto, Justin Hollander and the rest of the Mariners’ decision-makers were already high on him, and Jude reported they had wanted to hire him as a hitting coach back in 2021 and kept him in mind after that. Hollander said Kanzler “dominated the process to the degree that I think we would have been foolish to take all the hard work and throw it out the window and not choose him.”
So the inexperience issue is still there. It just doesn’t look quite as simple now. The Mariners may still be asking Kanzler to prove himself on the job, but the latest reporting suggests they were at least confident enough in his fit to bring veteran players into the decision before making it official.
In Other News...
Mariners Infield Fix May Depend On How Far John Stanton Will Go
The Mariners search for help on the left side of the infield has become a question of both fit and finances. Seattle is reportedly looking for a veteran who can stabilize third base or shortstop alongside Colt Emerson, and the front office has been tied to a range of possibilities as it tries to balance immediate needs with longer-term roster planning.
One name to watch is Teruaki Sato, a Japanese power bat who would bring real upside but also a steep price tag that could test how aggressive ownership wants to be. Seattle has generally preferred to make its biggest long-term commitments earlier in a players career, which leaves this pursuit in a gray area: appealing enough to consider, expensive enough to make the final call hinge on how far John Stanton is willing to go. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Bullpen Search Could Test Jerry Dipoto In A Rare Way
The Mariners are still surveying the bullpen market, and Adrian Morejon has emerged as one of the more intriguing names tied to their search. Seattles interest makes sense on paper: Jerry Dipoto has signaled a willingness to shop in that area, and Morejon brings the kind of late-inning arm that can change the shape of a relief corps without forcing the club to reach into its own depth.
What complicates the fit is the market around him. Morejon has drawn attention from teams that view him as a possible starter, but Seattle would be looking at him through a bullpen lens, and that kind of role preference can matter as much as the contract itself. The Mariners have not made any official move involving him yet, but if they decide to stay aggressive, this is the sort of pursuit that could test how far Dipoto is willing to go to land impact relief help. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Depth Picture Gets Murkier After Tacomas Uneven 2026
Tacomas 2026 season offered a mixed bag for the Mariners upper-level depth chart, even if the Rainiers still managed to finish in the middle of the Pacific Coast League pack in key offensive and run-prevention categories. The clubs 72-78 record reflected the uneven nature of the year, but there were still some encouraging individual performances scattered through the roster, including Brock Roddens power and extra-base production, plus stretches of impact from Brennen Davis before injuries took over.
The bigger question for Seattle is what to make of the names that were supposed to shape the next wave. Colt Emersons year never really settled into the kind of momentum the organization hoped for, and his health and performance issues only added to the uncertainty around the farm systems timeline. For a Mariners club that has leaned on internal development to keep its window open, Tacomas uneven season left more questions than clean answers about who is ready to help next and when. [Read more 🡒]