The Mariners have been on the hunt for a new manager since they relieved Dan Wilson of his duties after a bitterly disappointing season. Seattle has been granted permission to interview former Astros manager Joe Espada for the job, but he isn’t the only experienced candidate on the team’s radar. The Mariners are also interested in Dodgers special assistant and ex-Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Baldelli, a major league outfielder from 2003-10, went into coaching in 2012. He worked in various positions with the Rays, with whom he played all but one season of his career, and impressed enough to became a managerial candidate for multiple teams in 2018. The Twins, Reds and Angels all interviewed Baldelli that fall, and Minnesota wound up hiring him to replace the fired Paul Molitor.
The Twins won the AL Central in each of Baldelli’s first two seasons, including the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, and he took home AL Manager of the Year honors as a rookie skipper. However, Minnesota didn’t win a playoff game in either of those years. The Yankees swept the Twins in a three-game ALDS in 2019, and the Astros dismissed them in two in the Wild Card round the next season. Baldelli’s Twins only made the postseason one more time (in 2023), and though they knocked out the Blue Jays with a two-game Wild Card sweep, they couldn’t get past the Astros in the ALDS.
Last September, on the heels of a 70-92 season, the Twins fired Baldelli. It didn’t help his cause that they cut payroll and shipped out third baseman/shortstop Carlos Correa and hurlers Jhoan Duran, Louis Varland and Griffin Jax at the July 31 trade deadline. The Twins were already six games below .500 on deadline day, but they went an abysmal 19-35 after the fire sale. That dented Baldelli’s record, though he still finished over .500 (527-505) with three division titles in Minnesota.
After the Twins moved on last year, Baldelli quickly expressed interest in managing again. The Nationals at least considered him for the role, but they hired Blake Butera instead. That led Baldelli to Los Angeles, where he already had familiarity with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman from their time together in Tampa Bay.
The Dodgers’ season is now over after the Brewers swept them out of the NLCS on Thursday, and Baldelli’s desire to manage again could lead him to Seattle if the team is serious about pursuing him. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who has been at the helm since 2015, previously hired first-time managers in Scott Servais and then Wilson. Now looking for the third manager of his tenure, Dipoto would reportedly prefer to hire a candidate with experience. As someone whose managerial resume includes 1,043 games between the regular season and playoffs, the 45-year-old Baldelli checks that box.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images
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