Last week we buried the Dan Wilson era. Turns out the organization wasn’t done digging.
Last Monday’s end-of-season press conference with Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander made one thing clear: this isn’t a managerial change, it’s a full reset. Four more names joined Wilson on the way out: bench coach Manny Acta, infield coach Perry Hill, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, and first base coach Eric Young Jr. will not return in 2027. Dipoto’s line in the announcement — “significant changes are required as we look toward 2027 and beyond” — is the kind of sentence executives write when they want you to know the easy part is over.
And honestly? Good. A 76-86 team in a division won by an 81-81 Astros club doesn’t get to keep its coaching staff because everyone’s nice. Acta spent over a decade in this organization, Hill’s infielders won Gold Gloves — but the offense finished 28th in runs and the defense was dead last in outs above average. At some point “meaningful contributions” is just a press-release way of saying “we loved them, and we lost anyway.”
The presser’s real news was the search criteria. Dipoto said the club will prioritize an experienced manager this time. That’s a genuine shift — Wilson had never managed anywhere before taking over in August 2024 — and it’s Dipoto admitting, without quite saying it, that the rookie-manager experiment ran its course. He also took the blame first (“the blame falls on me first”), which is the right thing to say and will be remembered exactly as long as the next hire wins.
He and Hollander are “making phone calls around the league,” which means the real shortlist is being assembled right now, and everything we’ve heard so far is the first draft.
Speaking of which: the candidate board is already crowded — and already wrong in one spot. Bob Nightengale’s early “leading candidate” report on Torey Lovullo got joined by Adam Jude’s list — Stephen Vogt, Rocco Baldelli, Chris Woodward, and Brandon Hyde. The fun details: Vogt has a close bond with Cal Raleigh and winters in Olympia, which makes him the fan-fiction favorite and also, per Jude, “highly unlikely” to shake loose from Cleveland. Baldelli is a Dodgers special assistant after the Twins years; Woodward coaches first base in L.A.; Hyde is a senior advisor in Tampa. All experienced. All fits the stated criteria.
Here’s where it gets messy. Torey Lovullo is off the board: Arizona extended him on a two-year deal before his old contract expired, so per Nightengale, he never became a free agent and the Mariners never got to formally contact him. All that “I wanna be wanted” drama ended with the guy getting wanted in the desert. Forget the tea leaves.
More names, in no order of likelihood: Adam Jude’s list also includes Pirates bench coach Kristopher Negrón — a familiar face, since he ran the Tacoma Rainiers in 2021 and coached first and third in Seattle from 2022–25. The Athletic floated Joe Espada as a fit, but only if the Astros don’t bring him back after their playoff exit — and Espada told ESPN he wants to return to Houston, so the conditional cuts both ways. Cora looks headed to Philadelphia: the NY Post reports he has the inside track there with Mattingly expected to step down. And a new name for Seattle’s list: Carlos Mendoza, whom the same piece names as fitting the Mariners’ experience requirement.
One more genuinely new name: Albert Pujols told Nightengale he interviewed for the Angels and Padres jobs last offseason, denied reports of heavy contract demands, and hopes a managing job materializes. He’s available — but he’s not a reported Seattle target, just a new name on the shelf.
And one opinion piece worth noting: SI’s FanNation argues Seattle should interview Don Mattingly if he parts ways with Philadelphia. That’s the outlet’s case, not a report of Seattle interest — though his son Preston being the Phillies’ GM adds a nice wrinkle.
One more thing, because it’s easy to lose in the wreckage: Kade Anderson — the kid whose rookie season ended with a line drive off his forearm in last Sunday’s finale — just won Baseball America’s 2026 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. That’s the future, bruised forearm and all. The next manager inherits him, Gilbert, and Woo. There are worse foundations.
So: Wilson’s gone, the coaches are gone, the experienced-manager mandate is public, and the phone calls are happening. This is the third dugout change in four years, and Dipoto knows he can’t afford to get it wrong. Neither can we — which is why we’re holding this one for the next shoe to drop.
Two quick housekeeping notes: nobody has clarified whether Wilson was fired or stepped down, so we’re not picking a version. And the Lovullo line: he’s not a candidate, he’s not a free agent, he’s not coming — the earlier version of this post said otherwise and was wrong. The correction is above.