Mariners fire Servais, name Dan Wilson permanent replacement
The Seattle Mariners fired longtime manager Scott Servais and named former player Dan Wilson as his replacement, the club announced Thursday.
Wilson is the team's permanent manager, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Details of his contract were not made public. He becomes the 18th full-time skipper in team history.
Seattle also fired hitting coach Jarret DeHart.
Hall of Famer and Mariners legend Edgar Martinez will also join the team's revamped coaching staff, according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.
Dipoto said it made a difficult conversation much more difficult due to the nature of the situation. https://t.co/yI00EnETob
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) August 22, 2024
Servais' firing comes after the Mariners were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers to end a 1-8 road trip. Seattle has gone 20-33 to drop back to .500 following a 44-31 start to the year.
The Mariners are a season-high five games behind the Houston Astros for the AL West lead and 7.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.
"We believe that we need a new voice in the clubhouse. Dan knows our team and has been a key member of our organization working with players at every level over the past 11 years," Dipoto said in a statement. "He is well respected within and outside of our clubhouse, and we are confident he will do a great job over the final six weeks of the season and moving forward."
Servais, 57, went 680-642 with Seattle since joining in 2016, which included snapping a 21-year playoff drought en route to an appearance in the 2022 ALDS.
However, Dipoto recently acknowledged that clubhouse changes needed to be taken into consideration amid an underwhelming 2024 season.
Wilson, who's never managed professionally or been on a major-league coaching staff, played for the Mariners for 12 years between 1994 and 2005 and is a member of the team's Hall of Fame. For the last seven years, he's worked in the club's front office as a special assistant for player development and has been a commentator on Mariners broadcasts since 2011.
The 55-year-old will attempt to right a Mariners club that's scored the fourth-fewest runs and has the worst team batting average in the majors. Seattle's offensive struggles have overshadowed a starting rotation that owns an MLB-best 3.32 ERA.
"I appreciate the faith that Jerry, (general manager Justin Hollander), and the Mariners organization have placed in me, and I'm eager to get to work," Wilson said. "I believe this team is capable of playing great baseball this season and look forward to the opportunity to work with this group of players and coaches."