Mariners Players Involved in Search for New Manager, Latest MLB Rumors Reveal

The Seattle Mariners reportedly took a unique approach in their search for a new manager this offseason.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that a "select group of Mariners players, veterans who are considered clubhouse leaders, participated in the final managerial interviews" before Jason Kanzler was hired for the position last week.

As Rosenthal noted, MLB players "normally have no input in the selection of a manager." Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto had previously declared that player input wouldn't factor into the team's decision.

"That remains to be seen. I think there's also a danger zone there, but they'll be in tune as to what we're doing, and they will give us the feedback that is required to make sure that this is a good fit. But we're not going to ask them to be a part of an interview process," Dipoto said last month.

In the end, the Mariners went with Kanzler, who previously served as the Chicago Cubs' farm director and has never managed at any level. Rosenthal reported that Seattle chose Kanzler over Joe Espada, who managed the Houston Astros for three seasons before being fired last month.

Despite Kanzler taking over as manager, the Mariners retained multiple coaches from the previous regime, including pitching coach Pete Woodworth and director of pitching strategy Trent Blank. CJ Gillman, their minor-league coordinator from 2022 to 2025, was hired as their pitching coach, and former New York Yankees catching instructor Tanner Swanson was hired as their bench coach.

Kanzler and company will be tasked with turning around a Mariners franchise that has missed the playoffs in three of the last four years.