Seattle Mariners hire 36-year-old manager after hugely disappointing year

Seattle Mariners hire 36-year-old manager after hugely disappointing year. Gabe Lacques USA TODAY.

Key points

• Yet it was the veteran core – most notably 2025 MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh – that disappointed in 2026 and led to Wilson's firing.
• The Seattle Mariners opted to go young filling their vacant managerial job, hiring 36-year-old Jason Kanzler to replace Dan Wilson, the club confirmed Tuesday, Nov.
• Kanzler becomes the second-youngest manager in Major League Baseball, behind Washington's Blake Butera.
• After Scott Servais and Wilson, the beloved former Mariners catcher, he will be the third manager hired by baseball operations president Jerry Dipoto.
• Seattle Mariners hire 36-year-old manager after hugely disappointing year.

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Notably, the Seattle Mariners opted to go young filling their vacant managerial job, hiring 36-year-old Jason Kanzler to replace Dan Wilson, the club confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Kanzler becomes the second-youngest manager in Major League Baseball, behind Washington's Blake Butera. This person took over the job at 33 one year ago. Kanzler was the Chicago Cubs' director of player development since 2024, a period that saw outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong emerge as one of the top players in the game.

In Seattle, he will confront a clubhouse with a mix of emerging talent and established stars. The club debuted top prospects like infielders Cole Young – a Gold Glove winner at second base – and Colt Emerson and, afterwards in the season, slugging outfielder Lazaro Montes.

Yet it was the veteran core – most notably 2025 MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh – that disappointed in 2026 and led to Wilson's firing. Wilson, All-Star outfielder Julio Rodriguez and a deep pitching staff supported lead the Mariners to Game 7 of the 2025 American League Championship Series before backsliding to a 76-86 record and third-place finish in the fragile AL West.

Kanzler was a major league coach for the Astros in 2022 and '23, a period in which they won the World Series and reached Game 7 of the ALCS. After Scott Servais and Wilson, the beloved former Mariners catcher, he will be the third manager hired by baseball operations president Jerry Dipoto.

"Our goal in this process was finding a manager with the ability to challenge all of us to improve, " Dipoto remarked in an official note issued by the club. "Jason has the mindset, expertise, communication skills, and intensity to help create a championship standard here in Seattle."

Kanzler, the first major league manager named Jason, played three seasons as an outfielder in the Twins organization and was a 20th-round pick out of the University at Buffalo. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

Taken together, the developments around seattle Mariners hire 36-year-old manager after hugely disappointing year point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.