The Seattle Mariners’ stunning collapse prompted a change in leadership, as the club replaced manager Scott Servais with Dan Wilson.
The team also announced Thursday afternoon that they had let hitting coach Garrett DeHart go.
“We believe we need a new voice on the clubhouse,” Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “Dan knows our team and has been a key member of our organization, working with players at every level for the past 11 years. He is highly respected both inside and outside of our clubhouse and we are confident he will do a great job leading our group through the final six weeks of the season and moving forward.”
“I want to thank Scott for all his hard work here in Seattle over the past nine seasons,” Dipoto said. “He poured his passion into the team and our community and I know I speak for the entire Mariners organization in thanking him for his hard work.”
The Mariners turned a 10-game lead in the American League West into a five-game deficit in the standings, putting what looked like a run to the postseason in jeopardy for a team still searching for its first title. Servais oversaw a frustrating situation — the Mariners’ elite pitching staff was consistently wasted by a slumping offense that ranked last in the league by multiple measures.
President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that Dan Wilson has been named the team’s new field manager.
Read more: https://t.co/P5T29eYV2S pic.twitter.com/gzvUCZzEEP
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 22, 2024
Servais, 59, was in his ninth season as the Mariners’ captain. Since being hired in 2016, he has compiled a 680-642 record (a .514 winning percentage), though the club’s only postseason appearance during his tenure came in 2022. The Mariners won a playoff series, beating the Blue Jays in the wild-card series before being swept by the Astros in the ALDS.
While the ending was bittersweet, the playoff appearance ended a 21-year playoff drought, which at the time was the longest in professional sports in North America. But the Mariners failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2023 and are now in danger of missing out again in 2024, despite a promising start to the season.
Wilson, who replaced Servais, is a fixture of the team’s glory days. Wilson played for the Mariners from 1994 to 2005, spending most of that time as an assistant to Randy Johnson. Wilson, 55, has never been on a major league coaching staff or a manager at any level, but he is a familiar face on the current team. He served as the club’s special assignments coordinator during spring training, where he was responsible for coaching the team. According to the Seattle TimesHe developed a close relationship with starting quarterback Cal Raleigh. He also served as a broadcaster for the team’s ROOT Sports channel and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2012.
“I appreciate the confidence that Jerry, Justin and the Mariners organization have placed in me,” Wilson said in a statement. “I am eager to get to work. I believe this team is capable of playing great baseball this season and I look forward to the opportunity to work with this group of players and coaches.”
Wilson takes over a team that is 64-64, five games out of a playoff spot and has lost three straight. The move will put more scrutiny on Jerry Dipoto, who took over as general manager in September 2015. The Mariners begin their next series on Friday against the San Francisco Giants in Seattle.
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(Scott Servais photo: Brandon Slaughter/Getty Images)
