SEATTLE WA: In an effort to keep their chances of making the playoffs alive, the Mariners are changing. Dan Wilson has been named the new manager of Seattle, the team announced Thursday night. Scott Servais was sacked.
Jarret DeHart, the hitting coach, was also fired by the M's. Although Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports (on X) that franchise icon Edgar Martinez would join the coaching staff in an undisclosed role, they did not immediately identify a replacement for hitting coach. Martinez's employment has not been formally announced by the M's.
“We believe that we need a new voice in the clubhouse,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto stated. “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.” Dipoto consistently thanked Servais for his nearly nine-year run in Seattle.
Since his hiring following the 2015 season, 57-year-old Servais has served as Seattle's captain. Although there have been ups and downs for the club over that time, the decision appears to be connected to the team's recent decline in the standings.
At the start of the season, the Mariners were cruising while teams like the Astros and Rangers were taking their time to get going. The M's led the Astros by ten games in the American League West as of June 18. However, since then, the Astros have changed their direction while the Mariners have gone on a terrible run. Now, the Ms are precisely .500 at 64-64, five games behind Houston and 7.5 games behind in the Wild Card Standings.
It's seldom clear if a manager is to blame for a team's shortcomings, but when things go wrong, it's not unusual for them to be made the victim of blame. Although Seattle's pitching staff is formidable, the team's batting line this year is a dismal .216/.301/.365, translating to a 96 wRC+.
With every other club below 25% and Colorado ranking second with a strikeout percentage of 26.1%, the team's strikeout rate of 27.7% is undoubtedly the lowest in the majors.
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