As we learned on Wednesday, Chicago Cubs farm director Jason Kanzler is in the mix for the Seattle Mariners managerial opening.

In addition to Kanzler, the Mariners are interested in former Houston Astros manager Joe Espada and former Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.

There are likely others as well, but these are the three that have been publicly connected to the M's job thus far.

As for Kanzler: In addition to being the farm director for the Cubs, he's also been a minor league and major league hitting coach for the Astros. He was on staff with the 2022 Astros that won the World Series and has been integral in the development/success of Jeremy Pena and Alex Bregman both.

Let's dig a little deeper on the pros and cons of his candidacy.

1) First off, he's been in two well-run organizations that have had success. If you're talking about a Mariners team that needs a culture reset, Kanzler has seen good culture. Both the Astros and Cubs have been in the playoffs in his time there, so he's seen what winning looks like.

2) He has experience at all levels. He's been on the minor league side, he's been on the major league side and he's been on the front office side. That should give him a useful understanding of the communication needed within each sector of the organization.

3) He's young. Look, they are different sports, but remember the success of the Los Angeles Rams with Sean McVay or the Seattle Seahawks with Mike Macdonald? Sometimes the young, innovative and exciting hire is the answer. Do you really want to pass up on the baseball version of them?

4) He's worked with star players before, including Pena and Bregman. Pena, he was with at the beginning of his career and Bregman he was with when already established. That shows that he can connect with players at all parts of their career arcs, which is important considering the M's have players at all parts of their careers as well.

5) He worked with Dusty Baker in Houston. He's seen analytical and he's seen old-school. Perhaps he's able to blend the two.

1) For all the success he's had, he's never been a big-league manager. And while that may not be the most important thing, he's also never been a bench coach, and he wasn't even on a big-league staff last season. Is he ready to make high-leverage pitching decisions, in the moment? What about high-leverage pinch-hit decisions? These are the things that earned Dan Wilson negative reviews from fans, so is he ready to do it?

2) Youth is good, but youth can be a detriment too. Will veteran players, some of who are nearly as old as Kanzler, respond to him? Can he command the room with them? It remains to be seen.

The latest 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is out, featuring former M's pitcher and current M's TV analyst Ryan Rowland-Smith. You can listen here, or you can watch in the YouTube player below.