The Seattle Mariners have made the second managerial change of the 2024 MLB season. And it comes with the team still fighting for a playoff spot.
Manager Scott Servais was relieved of his duties Thursday, the team announced.
Under Servais, 57, the Mariners once led the AL West division by as many as 10 games earlier this season, but are now five games behind the division-leading Houston Astros.
Dan Wilson, a former Mariners catcher from 1994 to 2005, was named the 21st manager in team history.
“We believe that we need a new voice in the clubhouse,” Mariners GM 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 over the past 11 years. He is well respected within and outside of our clubhouse and we are confident he will do a great job in leading our group over the final six weeks of the season and moving forward.’
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Servais, also a former catcher who played 11 seasons in the majors, has managed the Mariners the past nine years, but has only one postseason berth in 2022 to his credit.
This season looked like it could be his best Mariners team. And after a win in Cleveland on June 18, Seattle led the division by 10 games with a 44-31 record. But the M’s have taken a severe downturn since, losing 33 of their last 53 games to fall to the .500 mark.
Servais has a career managerial record in Seattle of 680-642, a .514 winning percentage.
“I do want to thank Scott for all his efforts here in Seattle over the past nine seasons,’ Dipoto said. ‘He has 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.”
Servais’ firing comes just over two weeks after Pedro Grifol was relieved of his duties as manager of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 8.
Wilson’s first game as manager will be on Friday, when the Mariners open a three-game series in San Francisco.
