‘Something had to change:’ KIRO staffers react to the Mariners firing Scott Servais

The tenure of Scott Servais tenure as manager of the Seattle Mariners ended Thursday as the team announced in a statement that it has moved on from the longtime skipper.

The announcement came after multiple outlets reported Thursday that the team was set to part ways with Servais, who was in his ninth year with the team. Ken Rosenthal and Marc Carig of The Athletic were the first to report the managerial change.

Former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson will replace Servais as manager, the team said. At this time, it’s unclear if Wilson will be the interim manager or if he will take the job permanently.

More from Seattle Sports: Mariners part ways with manager Scott Servais

President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that Dan Wilson has been named as the team’s new field manager.

Read more: https://t.co/P5T29eYV2S pic.twitter.com/gzvUCZzEEP

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 22, 2024

The move comes amid a collapse in the second half of the season that has seen the Mariners go from 10 games up in the American League West in mid-June to five games out of a playoff spot just two months later.

As Seattle Sports explains in its coverage, Servais, 57, was named the 20th manager in Mariners history ahead of the 2016 season. Like Wilson, Servais is a former catcher who spent 11 seasons in the big leagues with the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. He came to the Mariners as a first-time manager at any level after working in baseball front offices for a decade.

The Mariners posted a winning record in five of Servais’ first eight seasons. That includes back-to-back 90-72 seasons in 2021 and 2022, an 89-73 record in 2018, and an 88-74 record in 2023.

From Bump and Stacy: What change at manager could mean for rest of Mariners’ season

The KIRO Newsradio staffers who offered comments about the bombshell Seattle Sports development to MyNorthwest provided varying opinions, but they all agreed that this is not a surprising move, given the team’s performance this summer.

Aaron Granillo: Somebody must be held accountable

Granillo, an anchor and editor for KIRO Newsradio, is a longtime Mariners fan who follows Major League Baseball closely. He focused more on the production on the lineup, but acknowledged it was time to hold someone high up in the organization accountable for the team’s lack of success.

“This latest iteration of losing Mariners is arguably the most frustrating,” Granillo told MyNorthwest. “The front office made efforts in the offseason to address its biggest concern – strikeouts. Somehow, the offense is even worse, on pace to set a new MLB record for strikeouts. I don’t think that falls on Manager Scott Servais. Coaches don’t take the field. They don’t watch Strike 3 go by without swinging. Nobody could have predicted virtually every offensive player to perform below their career averages.

“That said, somebody must be held accountable, and the obvious scapegoat is the manager. Despite their putrid offense, the Mariners are still five games back of the Houston Astros with 34 games left. They have a favorable schedule coming up, and perhaps a new voice could generate a spark and get them to the playoffs. They certainly have the starting pitching to keep them in the hunt, but the lifelong Mariner fan in me is not holding his breath.”

Paul Holden: Something had to change

Holden, who is a producer for KIRO Newsradio and the new Seahawks podcast “The Reset with Gee Scott,” thinks Servais was able to get the most of his players during their playoff run in 2022. But he hasn’t succeeded in that area in the last two seasons.

“At this point, something had to change with the Seattle Mariners,” Holden’s statement to MyNorthwest reads. “While you can’t blame Servais for building the roster, it is the job of the manager to get the most out of his players. Servais did that during the playoff run and was able to create an environment within the clubhouse that looked like the foundation of success for seasons to come, lead by one of the best pitching staffs in baseball.

“Servais was unable to navigate the adversity of last year and this season. A slow offseason mixed with the Mariners wasting a 10-game lead, and constant sluggish performances, something had to change with the Mariners and making a change at manager makes the most sense. You can’t experience the last two seasons and expect no change. Someone needs to bring back the vibes and electric factory, it was clear Servais was unable to do that.”

Holden and Granillo both leave open the possibility this move involving the manager could spark the team for a playoff run to end the 2024 season.

“The season isn’t over, and desperate times call for desperate measures,” Holden said. “We will see if this sparks a run towards the playoffs or fizzle out towards an uncertain offseason.”

Brady Robic: Given the team’s freefall, this result isn’t shocking

Robic, a producer for Seattle Sports and KIRO Newsradio’s podcast “The Reset with Gee Scott,” said, despite the timing, he wasn’t stunned by this development involving the Mariners

“Can I say that I was shocked the hear that the Mariners were parting ways with manager Scott Servais? No, the idea of firing Servais has been floating around since the Mariners went into a free fall after losing their 10-game lead in the AL West,” Robic wrote to MyNorthwest Thursday. “Normally. you do not see a manager being fired at this point in the season unless you are in a failed state like the Chicago White Sox, but the Mariners are not having as an embarrassing season as they are.”

Robic pointed out Servais has had to deal with some bad luck as the Mariners did make some moves to bolster the roster before the trade deadline last month.

“There are many factors that go into the decision to fire a manager and Scott Servais was not dealt the best hand following the All-Star break,” Robic noted. “The momentum and potential of this Mariners team was on the upswing with additions of Randy Arozarena from the (Tampa Bay) Rays and Justin Turner from the (Toronto) Blue Jays, all signs were pointing to a playoff push with the additions of some veteran leadership and an impact bat. The Mariners have since fell off in the playoff race in the American League and that is for multiple reasons. Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford suffered injuries that took them out of the lineup and even though Rodriguez has returned, he is still not 100%.”

The bottom line is while Servais may not be the only person who deserves blame for the Mariners’ season heading south, he is the person who lost his job this week.

“The manager is always the first to get the axe when a season is not heading in the right direction, but I personally do not believe Scott Servais is the only person to blame,” Robic said. “With poor offensive output by this roster and some unfortunate late-inning home runs being given up by the bullpen, Servais played his cards the best he could but even that was not enough to keep his job.”

Robic also thinks it’s possible this move will galvanize the team as the finish line of the 2024 season approaches.

“This could be a wake-up call to the rest of the team that the organization is not afraid to make changes to light a fire under the idea of winning the division which is seemingly getting more and more unlikely,” Robic added. “I was expecting this news to come at the end of the season, but I guess the Mariners organization is trying one last Hail Mary move to save their almost tarnished season.”

Luke Duecy: The team may think the season is over

Duecy, who is a reporter and anchor for KIRO Newsradio, kept it pretty simple in his comments, noting that the Mariners may be ready to get a head start on planning for the 2025 season now.

“My first thought was ‘Why?’ Why fire Scott Servais now? Why fire him when the Mariners made moves before the trade deadline and why when there’s still some hope to win the AL West?'” Duecy said to MyNorthwest. “Also, there’s no indication Servais lost the clubhouse. He’s a player’s manager, one of the guys, and not the kind of controversial manager who would rub players or management the wrong way. Then it hit me. Perhaps the Mariners front office doesn’t think this year’s team has a chance to make the playoffs. With the Astros getting healthier by the day and surging into a five-game lead, and with the nearest Wild Card spot now more than seven games out, I suspect the M’s front office thinks this year’s season is now over. Good luck Servais and see you next year, Mariners.”

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.