Sunday was a day of farewells for the Mariners on and off the field. Making official what many have suspected, sources inside the Mariners organization say that the Mariners and manager Dan Wilson have parted ways. According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Wilson informed players he would not be returning in a meeting prior to Sunday’s season finale against the Angels. Wilson went on to manage the rest of the game, including two mid-inning defensive changes to allow
fan appreciation moments for both J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, both of whom are set to become free agents this season.
Wilson’s firing was essentially a fait accompli after the team underachieved to an almost unimaginable degree in 2026 following a deep playoff run in 2025. It was a baffling turn of events for a team that was projected as the favorites to win a weak AL West while returning essentially the same group of players and of staffers in 2026. Instead, the Astros once again captured the AL West, winning out over the Rangers. Neither club was particularly good this season; both were better than the Mariners.
While Wilson didn’t have direct experience managing, he did have a longstanding relationship with many of the team’s young players, having worked for years as a minor league coach/coordinator in the organization. Wilson had a particularly close relationship with fellow catcher Cal Raleigh, who always eagerly sought Wilson out for advice even before he was installed as the manager. Wilson’s first full season of managing was Raleigh’s historic 60-home run season, but Raleigh’s 2026 was a shocking disappointment that saw him go from one of the league’s best hitters to the league’s worst.
Moving on from Wilson is the first step in what promises to be an off-season of change for the Mariners, whose abysmal sub-.500 record ensure they cannot “run it back”. Given the young core and recent playoff run, Seattle should be an attractive destination for a manager. But how much control will that manager want to exert over bringing in their own choices for staffing? Pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Trent Blank still have time left on their contracts, as does infield coach Perry Hill. There are questions to be solved on the roster, as well, as the. Mariners will have to replace the assumed departures of Randy Arozarena and J.P. Crawford, in addition to shoring up a bullpen that was both injured and ineffective. But those are questions for the front office, specifically Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander, who are scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday. The looming lockout also poses a wrinkle in the upcoming down time, making it an off-season of uncertainty all around.
One thing is clear: the Mariners will have a new manager in 2026, for the third time in four years.
