The Seattle Mariners are set to hire Jason Kanzler to become the team’s newest manager the club announced on Tuesday. Kanzler most recently was the Chicago Cubs’ director of player development, but has no prior managerial experience under his belt.
The 36 year old never made it to the big leagues as a player himself, topping out at 127 games across 2 seasons at High-A ball with the Twins organization after being selected in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft. From there he joined the Houston Astros as a minor league hitting coach, before being brought up to their MLB coaching staff prior to the 2022 season.
Kanzler was one of two finalists for the position, with the other being former Astros manager Joe Espada. Once he takes to the field, he’ll be the 2nd youngest manager in the Major Leagues, trailing only Washington’s Blake Butera in that regard. He takes over from Dan Wilson who spent two seasons as manager of the team, posting a 187-171 record along the way.
“Our goal in this process was finding a manager with the ability to challenge all of us to improve,” president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “Jason has the mindset, expertise, communication skills and intensity to help create a championship standard here in Seattle.”
Kanzler will be the 3rd managerial hire under Dipoto who is set to enter his 12th season with the Mariners.
“Throughout the process, Jason consistently demonstrated elite leadership skills, high-end content and an ability to connect and partner with players, staff and front office,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said in a statement. “We all believe Jason is the right person to lead our organization back to the postseason.”
The former University of Buffalo player will now get to work assembling his coaching staff on the west coast. When Seattle parted ways with Wilson, they also cleared out 4 veteran coaches from their ranks as well. However, the club has agreed to terms on a deal with CJ Gillman on Friday to serve as the team’s new hitting coach, checking off one item from Kanzler’s to do list.
“This team has an immense amount of talent in all facets of the game, and my coaching staff and I are excited to access and unlock this team’s full potential,” Kanzler said in a statement.
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