Seattle Mariners Manager: How Will Money Matter in Hire?

While the playoffs are currently rolling on for several teams, the offseason is in high gear for the Seattle Mariners, who are in search of a new skipper after parting ways with Dan Wilson at the conclusion of the 2026 campaign.

Wilson served in the job for two-plus seasons, winning the American League West in 2025 and finishing 76-86 this season. The Mariners were one of the biggest disappointments in the entire league, finishing third in the division.

When looking for a new dugout leader, the Mariners will be considering several factors, including: Previous managerial experience, ties to the organization, willingness to work with the front office and ability to control the clubhouse.

And at some point, the Mariners will have to consider money as well. I've already said that this hire is the biggest decision for the Mariners since 2018, and Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times previously reported that the Mariners are one of the lower-paying managerial jobs in the sport.

So, just how much will money matter in the search for the M's next skipper? We spoke with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.

"It is a big deal. It can be a big deal. I mean, for some owners, they will say, like, 'that's fine, pay him what he's worth in the marketplace.' You saw the Chicago Cubs pay Craig Counsell, take him away from the Milwaukee Brewers at $8 million a year. And they feel like that's well worth their time.

But I mean, Dusty Baker was basically forced out of his job with the Washington Nationals at one point because their owners wouldn't come close to paying him what his market value was.

So yes, it absolutely can be a big deal. And maybe, you know, in Seattle's case, maybe, we talked about the concerns over travel, whatever the issues that someone might have with Seattle, maybe you buy them out of that.

I mean, I'm looking at people that I worked with at ESPN. Aaron Boone, Eduardo Perez, Alex Cora, David Ross, all these guys, part of the great thing about having this job is that you can make a living in baseball. You're in the game, you're doing a lot of things, and you can also spend more time with your kids because you're not at the ballpark for 10 hours a day.

And so if you go after one of those type of managers, someone who's got experience, you're going have to buy them out, so to speak, right? You're going have to say, 'look, I hear you. I need to make it worth your while.'

And so it's probably worth having a conversation with a person in that situation and see if you can make it work."

At this point, there are no known candidates for the M's job, as Jerry Dipoto indicated the search would be wide-ranging and there was no official timeline on getting a hire done.

Presumably, the Mariners would like to have someone in place by end of the month so they can get to work on hiring a staff, since they also made a number of changes on the staff at large.