Scott

Servais

Hayes adds that Shelton and Rowson, who has served as the Yankees hitting coach for the past two seasons, are the leading candidates with Flaherty and Servais still in the mix. Shelton and Servais are the most experienced finalists following recent multi-year runs with the Pirates and Mariners, respectively. Flaherty, who has spent the last two seasons as the Cubs bench coach, has been a serious managerial candidate on several occasions in recent years. It’s possible they’ll go completely off the grid with a non-traditional choice, like the Giants most recently with collegiate head coach Tony Vitello, but it sounds like they’ve narrowed their search to four finalists to replace Rocco Baldelli.

Servais was fired in the middle of the 2024 season after recording a 680-642 record with the Mariners and leading them to one postseason appearance. The 57-year-old will likely be a candidate for manager jobs during the 2026 cycle.

Seattle also fired hitting coach Jarret DeHart. Servais’ managerial tenure in Seattle ends with a pedestrian 680-642 record (.514) in nine years since 2016. He also helped the Mariners end a 21-year postseason drought back in 2022. The Mariners have vastly underachieved this season with a 64-64 record and have fallen nearly 10 games out of a Wild Card playoff spot after dropping eight of their last 10 games. It’ll be Dan Wilson taking over as Seattle’s manager with Edgar Martinez, who has been with the club as a special advisor since 2018 after a couple seasons as a hitting coach, returning to the field staff.

Servais was in his ninth season as the Mariners’ manager, compiling a 680-642 record (.514 winning percentage) since being hired in 2016. In 2022 he guided the Mariners to the postseason, which ended a 21-year postseason drought that, at the time, had been the longest in North American professional sports. The Mariners seemed destined to make another playoff appearance this season before things went sideways in a hurry, turning a 10-game lead in the American League West into a five-game deficit in the standings. That proved to be a bridge too far for an organization that has yet to win a division title. a franchise that is still in search of its first pennant. Dan Wilson will take his place; although Wilson, who served as a special assignment coordinator during spring training, has never been on a big-league coaching staff or managed at any level. The former Mariners catcher will take over a team that is 64-64, five games out of a playoff spot, and on a three-game losing streak.

Brown had been in his first year with the Mariners. Entering play on Friday, the Mariners’ offense ranks tied for 28th in baseball with just 211 runs scored. The only team they have outscored is the White Sox while slashing a miserable .221/.295/.361 as a team. It’s unclear what the Mariners plan to do to replace Brown’s role.

Vogt makes the leap directly from playing last season with the Athletics to serving on Mariners’ manager Scott Servais’s staff in a coaching role. The 38-year-old wrapped up a 10-year playing career a few months ago and has already transitioned to the next phase of his baseball life. Good stuff.

Terry Francona (Guardians) and Scott Servais (Mariners) have also been named finalists. Hyde helped guide the Orioles to a surprising 83-79 record this year, a 31-win improvement over where they finished in 2021. The three finalists for the award in the National League: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, Mets manager Buck Showalter, and Braves manager Brian Snitker.

DeHart will also have the role of director of hitting strategy. Additionally, Andy McKay has been added as a coach and senior director of baseball development, and Kristopher Negrón will be the first base coach.

The winner will be announced next Tuesday, Nov. 16 on MLB Network. The inclusion of Servais is notable, as the Mariners weren’t able to break their playoff drought, but they were the biggest surprise in the AL this season with a 90-72 record. Usually surprises win out with Manager of the Year, but we’ll soon find out if BBWAA writers agree.

A well-deserved reward for Servais, who has guided Seattle to a 71-62 record so far this season despite a -57 run differential. He’s already the second-winningest manager in franchise history in his sixth year with the organization. The team also announced Wednesday morning that general manager Jerry Dipoto has been promoted to the role of president of baseball operations. He’ll get a multi-year contract extension as well.