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After losing eight of their last 10 games, the Seattle Mariners fired manager Scott Servais despite being well within striking distance of winning the American League West (5.0 GB) or a Wild Card spot (7.5 GB). With three games left on the schedule against the division-leading Houston Astros, it was certainly plausible that the Mariners could turn it around and get hot at the right moment for a playoff push.
With Servais' departure, Dan Wilson is expected to take over the Mariners' dugout.
Perhaps the franchise still hasn't quite recovered from failing to meet expectations during the 2022 and 2023 seasons and the following fallout. While managers can't make hitters hit and pitchers pitch, one can argue they can be inspired to perform better—that's the case when you're hearing from Mariners president of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto via Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times.
“It definitely has to be a consideration for us, to talk through everything. We’ve underperformed and there is some discussion for each of us to have the part we have played in coming up as short as we have to the point.”
Dipoto and Servais seemed to have a good working relationship in that the manager executed his game plan. But when a team fumbles a big 10-game lead in the AL West and is left five games back in the standings, something eventually must be done. The Mariners' inability to improve upon their 2022 season, which saw them swept out (0-3) of the AL Division Series by the Houston Astros, has frustrated fans–perhaps an understatement.
Dipoto continued to voice his concerns via Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic about how the team tried to turn things around before Servais' dismissal.
“Coming into the season, we all thought this was the most talented group that we’ve had,” Dipoto said, via The Athletic. “We’re looking at everything. There is no stone unturned. We’ve talked about getting back to grassroots with what our hitting philosophy is and what we are about, the way we message it to our players. Or, are we overcomplicating it with the information we provide and the strategies we employ?”
Why the Mariners were correct in firing Scott Servais
Promising players like Cal Raleigh, Bryan Woo, Julio Rodriguez, Luke Raley, Randy Arozarena and Logan Gilbert are all on the cusp of becoming even better, and who can blame the fans for wanting more for their players?
In his ninth season as manager, the results haven't been good enough, especially after a strong start to the 2024 season. Everyone has expected more these last few years, and reports from Ken Rosenthal and Marc Craig of The Athletic echo that sentiment.
“Though it was a bitter ending, the playoff appearance ended a 21-year postseason drought that at the time had been the longest in North American professional sports. But the Mariners missed the playoffs in 2023 and are now in danger of doing so once again in 2024, despite a promising start to the season.”
If anything, firing Servais came too late. This team has an uphill climb for a playoff run. And that's discounting and forgetting all the past slip-ups and what-ifs from the past decade. Perhaps if the locker room wanted their manager gone, this personnel change would give them a boost. It's unlikely, though. This move, even if right, feels like the Mariners' final 2024 gasp. The conclusion to what seems like a disappointing final chapter of a story that seemed promising only weeks ago.
