Mariners Interested In Jason Kanzler For Managerial Vacancy

The Mariners are looking for a new manager after parting ways with Dan Wilson last month. A report from Patrick Mooney, Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that Jason Kanzler, Joe Espada and Rocco Baldelli are three of the candidates. Those aren’t the only three candidates in the mix but the report characterizes the search as being in an advanced stage. Espada and Baldelli have been connected to the job in previous reporting.

Kanzler, now 36, was drafted by the Twins in 2013. He topped out at the High-A level in 2015. He then became a teacher but also did some coaching in the Cape Cod League. Prior to the 2019 season, he got a job in the minor league system of the Astros as hitting coordinator. He got promoted to the big league staff for the 2022 campaign with the vague title of major league coach. He was made assistant hitting coach for the 2023 season. In January of 2024, the Cubs hired Kanzler as director of player development.

It would be a bit of an unorthodox move for the Mariners to pick Kanzler. He is quite young and doesn’t have a ton of experience, whereas Espada and Baldelli have both been managers before. Espada just wrapped up a three-year run in the Astros dugout. Baldelli managed the Twins from 2019 to 2025. The Dodgers hired him in December as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

The Mariners also had Torey Lovullo on their radar, though Lovullo subsequently signed a new deal to stay with the Diamondbacks. Around the time of the Lovullo reporting, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said the club was leaning towards a manager with experience but also expressed a desire to shake things up with fresh ideas.