The longtime MLB Insider was a guest on the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, and he talked about what the M's should be looking for in a new skipper, and what they should avoid.
Last weekend, the Seattle Mariners and manager Dan Wilson elected to part ways after nearly 2.5 seasons, opening up the Mariners job for the third time since 2015.
Wilson had a polarizing tenure in Seattle, reaching the American League Championship Series in 2025 before going 76-86 this season, missing the playoffs despite the most wide open American League in recent memory.
Speaking this past Monday at T-Mobile Park, Jerry Dipoto indicated that the Mariners search for a new skipper would be exhaustive and that they will take their time to do it right.
As the search continues to unfold, you will hear a lot of names connected to the position. Some of those names will be guys with prior managerial experience like Brandon Hyde, Rocco Baldelli and David Ross. Others will have no prior experience like Kai Correa of the New York Mets. Some will have prior associations with the Mariners like Raul Ibanez and Chris Woodward, and others will be totally new to the organization.
It will obviously be up to the M's leadership to sift through the best candidates to find the right one, but ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney had a strong message about the whole thing on Thursday's edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.
"...I don't think they're in a position where they can gamble on someone who doesn't have experience.
You know, we saw, for example, Washington last year. They gave Blake Butera the job, age 32. Craig Albernaz was hired by the Baltimore Orioles not having managed in the big leagues, I don't think that the Mariners are in that kind of position now.
Like, they have a group of players where it's win now. And you don't want to have a manager who's on a learning curve. You want to have someone who's going to hit the ground running, and help with the culture and make it more positive.
Because that's one of the things that's being talked about with the Mariners is their clubhouse culture. And so you want a known quantity.
You know, a guy like Alex Cora, whether you want them or not, there's a track record there that you can examine. And you know that he's dealt with a lot of situations.
And David Ross, he's one of the names being kicked around. I'm working with him every day here at ESPN in recent days. He's been around. He was a clubhouse leader when he was a player. You know, that sort of thing.
There's pressure on Jerry to get it right. But I also think in this particular case, because of the expectations for the team, you can't miss with a rookie manager."
The last two managers that the M's had, Scott Servais and Wilson, had no prior major league managing experience, so there is certainly a possibility that they look for someone more established.
Whoever they hire, the M's have to focus on fixing the clubhouse dynamic, as Olney indicated. Over the last week, a lot has come out about accountability, practice habits, preparation, focus and effort.
The Mariners are absolutely in a win-now mode with Josh Naylor, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Colt Emerson all under long-term contract. Now, it's about capitalizing and not wasting these opportunities, especially with the division still their for the taking.
