2:25pm: Veteran slugger Edgar Martínez is predicted to affix the teaching workers for the remainder of the season, per Adam Jude of The Seattle Instances on X.
1:45pm: The Mariners are anticipated to fireplace supervisor Scott Servais, per a report from Ken Rosenthal and Marc Carig of The Athletic. He shall be changed by Dan Wilson in an announcement that’s anticipated later at the moment.
Servais, 57, has been the skipper in Seattle since 2016. The membership has had its share of ups and downs in that point however the transfer appears to be associated to the membership’s latest slide within the standings. The Mariners had been cruising firstly of the season whereas golf equipment just like the Astros and Rangers had been gradual getting transferring. As not too long ago as June 18, the M’s had a ten-game lead over the Astros within the American League West.
However issues have flipped since then, with the Mariners hitting a foul skid because the Astros have course corrected. The M’s at the moment are precisely .500 at 64-64, placing them 5 video games again of Houston and seven.5 video games again within the Wild Card race.
Whether or not a membership’s failings could be positioned on the supervisor is all the time a matter for debate, however it’s not unusual for them to be scapegoated when issues go unhealthy. Seattle has a powerful pitching workers however the hitters have a collective batting line of .216/.301/.365 this yr, which interprets to a wRC+ of 96. The team-wide 27.7% strikeout price is definitely the worst within the majors, with Colorado second-worst at 26.1% and each different membership beneath 25%.
Whether or not that has one thing to do with Servais or the membership’s general roster building, or some mixture, is one thing for every fan to resolve for themselves. Both approach, it appears the choice makers have opted to shake issues up with simply over a month remaining on the schedule.
The membership has caught by Servais by means of another ups and downs, although a few of these had been clearly deliberate. The Mariners hovered round .500 in his first three years, together with an 89-73 end in 2018, however then the entrance workplace determined to embark on a rebuild. They traded away gamers like Robinson Canó, Edwin Díaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura and others going into 2019. They completed beneath .500 that season and within the shortened 2020 season as properly.
Issues have been significantly better currently. They received 90 video games in 2021, simply narrowly lacking the playoffs. One other 90-win season adopted in 2022, which was sufficient for a Wild Card spot that yr, the membership’s first playoff berth since 2001. Final yr, they slipped barely to 88 wins, lacking the playoffs by only one recreation.
Regardless of a reasonably robust three-year run, the continued collapse this yr has prompted the M’s to pivot to Wilson. It’s a curious selection, as midseason managerial firings often see the membership pivot to a different key member of the workers such because the bench coach, however that’s not the case this time.
Wilson performed within the massive leagues from 1992 to 2005 as a catcher, most of that with the Mariners. The M’s employed him as a minor league catching coordinator in 2013. Per the report from Rosenthal and Carig at the moment, he has been across the membership in Spring Coaching as a particular assistant coordinator. He has by no means been a part of an enormous league teaching workers, nor been a supervisor at any degree.
Whether or not the membership envisions Wilson as a brief skipper or a long-term alternative shall be revealed in time. Maybe it relies upon upon how issues play out within the weeks to come back, because the Mariners look to keep away from one other disappointing end right here in 2024. General, Servais has a managerial file of 680-642 within the common season, in addition to two wins and three losses within the postseason.
