One of the biggest names remaining in the Mariners’ managerial search has reportedly withdrawn from contention, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic: Rocco Baldelli has reportedly taken himself out of the running, citing “family considerations.”
Baldelli, 45, is originally from Rhode Island, and spends part of his time there, but also has a home in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was based during his seven-year professional playing career as a member of the Rays. For the past year, he’s been working
with the Dodgers as a special assistant/advisor to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Perhaps that was enough being cross-coastal for Baldelli, who has three children under age five, including three-year-old twins.
Baldelli has been a popular name in the Mariners’ coaching search thanks to a strong reputation for facility with analytics. He joined the Rays front office shortly after his playing career ended and was with the organization – arguably the most analytics-friendly front office in the sport – until he departed to take the Twins’ managerial vacancy. Baldelli was with Minnesota from 2019-2025, overseeing the Twins in three playoff appearances but also a deeply disappointing 2024 where the team finished fourth in the AL Central despite being favored in preseason odds. The Twins parted ways with Baldelli after 2025, when the Twins again finished fourth in the Central.
Baldelli’s playing career was unfortunately cut short because he battles mitochondrial channelopathy, a rare genetic condition that affects how mitochondria in your cells produce energy, which can cause a host of issues, from fatigue to diabetes to persistent muscle weakness or pain.
The Mariners will now turn their attentions elsewhere as they continue to narrow their pool of candidates, as reportedly they were hoping to make a hire before the end of the month. They’ll have plenty of competition in attracting said candidates even in just the AL West, with both the Astros and the Angels looking for new managers. The Astros made a hiring move today, hiring Conner Watson away from the Cleveland Guardians, to be hitting director. Watson served as the Guardians’ assistant director of hitting development for the past two years; previously he was with Driveline in their Arizona location, serving as the Hitting Lead for four years after coming out of the small-college coaching corps.
