Who will replace Dan Wilson as Mariners manager? 5 possible replacements

Cal Raleigh was still processing the news of Dan Wilson’s departure when he was asked Sunday afternoon if he wanted to be involved in the search for the next Mariners manager.

“It’s uncharted territory for me,” the Mariners catcher said. “So I don’t really necessarily know how that goes at this level. We’ll just have to see how it plays out. I’m sure they’ll probably start looking right away.”

The search for Wilson’s successor is expected to begin in earnest this week.

Neither of the Mariners’ last two managers — Scott Servais and Dan Wilson — had experience managing in the big leagues before taking over the Mariners’ job. It would seem likely that that would be a priority for the club this time around.

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That in mind, here’s a list of candidates likely to pique the Mariners’ interest:

Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks manager

The Mariners front office has already had internal discussions about Lovullo, who appears to be a leading candidate for the job, according to industry sources.

Lovullo’s status in Arizona, as of Sunday, was uncertain. His contract expires at the end of this season, and there have reportedly been no talks about a new contract for him there. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday after finishing 86-76.

The D’backs have missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons after Lovullo led them to the 2023 National League pennant. 

Lovullo has a 750-768 record in 10 seasons as the D’backs manager. 

“I want to win a world championship with this organization,” Lovullo told reportedly Sunday. “But I want to be wanted. I’ll just leave it at that. (My job) is probably not the conversation to have right now. I need to think about a few things.”

Stephen Vogt, Guardians manager

To be clear: This appears highly unlikely. Vogt would almost certainly be No. 1 on the Mariners’ wish list — No. 1 on any team’s list, probably — if he were available. But that’s a big if.

Vogt, the AL Manager of the Year in 2024 and ’25, has led the Guardians to the AL Central title in all three years as manager, and he reportedly signed a multiyear extension before the 2025 season. Vogt has strong ties to the Puget Sound area; his wife is from Olympia and the family lives in Olympia during the offseason. Vogt was the Mariners’ bullpen coach in ’23 and was in line to take over as Seattle’s bench coach alongside Scott Servais in ’24 before the Guardians hired him as manager.

Presuming Vogt is still under contract with Cleveland for 2027, it would require some sort of trade. Manager trades are rare, though not unprecedented. The Mariners famously traded Lou Piniella to Tampa Bay for All-Star left fielder Randy Winn in October 2002. (Two other managers have been traded since — Ozzie Guillen from the White Sox to the Marlins in 2011, and John Farrell from the Blue Jays to the Red Sox in 2012.) But, again, it does seem highly unlikely in this case; what would be the Guardians’ motivation be to move on from one of the sport’s best managers?

Kristopher Negrón, Pirates bench coach

Negrón, 40, has deep ties with the Mariners.

He was hired as the Mariners’ assistant director of player development in 2019, the Triple-A Tacoma manager in 2021 and a member of the Mariners major-league coaching staff from 2022-25, serving as the first base and third base coach. (He was acting manager for a brief period in 2022 when Servais and Manny Acta contracted COVID-19.)

The Pirates hired Negrón last offseason to be their bench coach, and he’s long been viewed as a coach on the rise in the industry.

Rocco Baldelli, Dodgers baseball operations assistant 

Baldelli, 45, compiled a 527-505 record (. 511) in seven seasons as Minnesota’s manager. In his first year, he was named AL Manager of the Year in 2019 after leading the Twins to 101 wins.

Tampa’s first-round pick in 2000, Baldelli played seven years in the majors as an outfielder, then in retirement spent seven more seasons with Rays as a minor-league coordinator and major-league coach. 

He’s now in his first season as a special assistant in the Dodgers’ front office.

Kai Correa, Mets bench coach

Correa, 38, played college baseball at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma from 2007-2010, then began his coaching career there. 

He got his first job in MLB as a minor-league coach in Cleveland’s organization in 2018.

At age 31, he became baseball’s youngest bench coach when he joined San Francisco in that role in 2020. He spent four seasons with the Giants before returning to Cleveland to be their major-league field coordinator in 2024-25. 

He just completed his first season as the Mets bench coach.

Other names to watch:

–Chris Woodward, Dodgers first base coach; former Rangers manager; former Mariners first base coach.

–Brandon Hyde, Rays senior adviser; former Orioles manager

–Andy McKay, Guardians field coordinator; former Mariners assistant GM