The Mariners parted ways with longtime manager Scott Servais earlier this week, and the now ex-manager spoke with reporters on the club’s beat (including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer) on Friday regarding his time in Seattle and the club’s decision to part ways with him.
Servais indicated during his remarks that he had previously thought that if the club missed the playoffs this year, that could lead to the end of his nine-year tenure as the Mariners’ manager. Even, so Servais expressed surprise at the club’s decision to part ways with him midseason, noting (as relayed by Kramer) that his “expectation was that [he’d] get to finish out the year” while also adding that he first heard of his dismissal via news alert on his phone prior to his in-person meeting with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, an experience that Servais described as “alarming.”
The 57-year-old was first hired to lead the Mariners back in 2016. Servais had a 681-642 record during his time at the helm of the Mariners, good for a .515 winning percentage despite the fact that his teams made the postseason just once back in 2021 and never won the AL West under his guidance. Despite that relative lack of on-field success, Servais received votes for the AL Manager of the Year award three times during his tenure with the Mariners, including a third-place finish in 2022 and a second-place finish behind two-time winner Kevin Cash back in 2021.
Per Kramer, Servais indicated to reporters that he hopes his split with Seattle won’t mark the end of his managerial career. At least one job opportunity is set to be available this winter after the White Sox fired manager Pedro Grifol earlier this month. Grady Sizemore is currently acting as the club’s interim manager, although White Sox brass have already indicated that the club expects to look for a long-term solution outside of the organization. There’s also some level of uncertainty in the Rockies dugout as the club waits until after the season to discuss the future of manager Bud Black amid what officially became the club’s sixth consecutive losing season on Friday with their 0-3 loss to the Yankees.