8/22/24

(Seattle, WA) After almost nine full seasons as the manager of the Seattle Mariners, Scott Servais was fired on Thursday as announced by President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto. This comes after a ten-game lead in the AL West turned into a five-game deficit in just a couple of months. Seattle’s hitting coach Jarret DeHart was also let go on Thursday. Seattle’s team batting average of .216 is the worst in baseball this season.

Since becoming the manager in 2016, Scott Servais put up a 680-642 record and helped push the team to a playoff berth in 2022 for the first time since 2001. Servais sits second in franchise history in wins as a manager behind only Lou Pinella and is one of only three managers in franchise history to have a winning record in his tenure (Pinella, Lloyd McClendon).

Taking over for at least the remainder of the season will be the beloved Mariners Hall of Fame catcher Dan Wilson. Wilson played for the Mariners from 1994 to 2005 and is sixth all time in games played with the franchise. Wilson has never been on a big-league coaching staff but has served as a special assignment coordinator for the Mariners in Spring Training.

It is unclear if Dan Wilson will be the manager beyond the 2024 season, but he will be the leader of the club for the final month and change of this season. Seattle sits 64-64 and five games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West. Wilson’s first game as manager is expected to be on Friday in Seattle against the San Francisco Giants.

Reports also indicate that more moves are expected today as well. One of those includes Edgar Martinez joining Wilson’s staff for the remainder of the season. Edgar was the Mariners hitting coach from 2015-2018 before stepping away on his own accord. He could go back to his old position with the position open.

This is a developing story with new information coming out. This article will be updated regularly so check back as more information comes in.

For more, check out the link below to the article that broke the news by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Marc Carig.

Seattle Mariners fire Scott Servais, name Dan Wilson manager – The Athletic (nytimes.com)