The Seattle Mariners simply had no choice.
They already fired their hitting coordinator and bench coach.
They dumped underachieving hitters.
They traded for hitters at the deadline.
Now, they decided to fire their manager.
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The Mariners, watching their pitching staff’s glorious performance this season being squandered, fired manager Scott Servais on Thursday and replaced him with longtime catcher Dan Wilson, the team announced.
The decision was made during the Mariners’ 1-8 road trip, the official said. The Mariners have turned what was once a 10-game lead into a five-game deficit in the AL West, the official said. The Mariners privately gave Servais, who was in his ninth year as manager, the road trip to turn around the team but the Mariners’ woes only deepened.
The Mariners informed Servais of the decision Thursday morning after president Jerry Dipoto told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Wednesday that Servais’ job security would be discussed. The Athletic first reported Thursday that Servais was expected to be dismissed.
“Coming into the season, we all thought this was the most talented group that we’ve had,” Dipoto told The Athletic. “We’re looking at everything. There is no stone unturned. We’ve talked about getting back to grassroots with what our hitting philosophy is and what we are about, the way we message it to our players. Or, are we overcomplicating it with the information we provide and the strategies we employ?
“I can say this, me, our coaches, our staff, none of us is blameless. We have really struggled to play offense this year. And it’s not just on our players for not doing that. That would be a cop-out.”
The Mariners, who have made the playoffs just once in the last 22 years, were 44-31 with a 10-game lead over the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers on June 18.
Today, they are just 64-64 after losing 18 of their 30 games since the All-Star break, trailing the Astros by five games in the AL West and 7 ½ games out in the wild-card race.
Now, the Mariners will see if a different voice can make a difference.
Wilson, the Mariners’ former All-Star catcher who’s in their Hall of Fame, has never managed except for a one-week stint at Triple-A Tacoma in 2022. He has been a special assistant for the Mariners while also occasionally broadcasting Mariners games.
The biggest challenge will be fixing an offense that’s been abysmal.
The Mariners rank last or next-to-last in the major leagues in batting average, hits, doubles, total bases and slugging percentage, hitting just .216.
Meanwhile, their pitching staff is the best in baseball, yielding a major-league leading 3.53 ERA with 13 shutouts.
The Mariners have 34 games remaining to quickly turn their season around, or spend their entire winter wondering what could have happened if they just made the playoffs, with their dynamic pitching staff perhaps leading them to their first World Series appearance.
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