If the Seattle Mariners have one advantage in their search for a new manager, it’s that theirs is the only open gig in town right now. They’re reportedly casting a “wide net,” which is easier to appreciate after the Philadelphia Phillies simply re-hired Don Mattingly.
This didn’t seem like a given two weeks ago, when the Phillies’ 2026 season unceremoniously ended at the hands of the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card Series. Mattingly was only their interim manager, and one not especially beloved by the fanbase. The signs pointed toward Dave Dombrowski attempting to reunite with Alex Cora.
Well, that didn’t pan out. And as we wrote at the time, Cora spurning the Phillies was the scary part. It gave the Mariners a potentially dangerous competitor on the manager market, if for no other reason than the Phillies have deep pockets and a willingness to use them. If the Mariners and Phillies came to like the same manager candidate, the latter would have been the better bet to pay up.
Instead, as reported by Matt Gelb and Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the Phillies have decided to bring Mattingly back. It was the easy move. It was also the lazy move. Mattingly’s track record as a manager is longer (13 years) than it is impressive (.491 winning percentage). He’s not known for being a master strategist. As for his leadership, his midseason smackdown of Bryce Harper is a Rorschach test. That was either proper old school or too old school.
As of yesterday, the view from Ethan Williams at That Ball’s Outta Here was that the Phillies needed to run a “thorough, exhaustive” search for a new manager. Some wishes deserve to be granted. Alas, this was one of them.
The Mariners have considered dozens of possibilities for their manager job
Meanwhile in Seattle, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners’ initial list of candidates to replace Dan Wilson consisted of “upwards of 40 names.”
Joe Espada, whose contract with the Houston Astros runs out soon, is known to be one of them. Whether you approve or disapprove of him being in the running, it’s nice to know he’s far from the only one in consideration. Here’s a few more names courtesy of Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Mariners are casting wide net for their managerial job, a plum job due to talent, city, potential. Joe Espada, Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde, David Ross are among possible candidates who’d fit preference for experience. Seattle received permission on Espada, as @Feinsand said
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 13, 2026
This is not a complete list. The Mariners are also reportedly considering coaches who are still active in the playoffs. We don’t know who, but we have some guesses.
Every Mariners fan is going to have their favorite for the job, but it doesn’t feel as if there’s a betting favorite. That’s a good thing, as it implies that Jerry Dipoto meant what he said when he spoke of needing “something new” from the team’s next manager. Already, this manager search feels different from when he tabbed a close friend (Scott Servais) and a franchise legend (Wilson) with his first two manager hires.
The risk in taking time with this search is related to the lockout, which is (almost certainly) coming on December 1. There is, after all, a lot more for the Mariners to do this winter than hire a new manager.
Still, what they are doing beats simply making a lateral move like the Phillies with Mattingly.
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