Mariners fire manager Wilson as 'very difficult' season ends

Dan Wilson, who led the Seattle Mariners to the American League Championship Series last year, will not return as manager next season, he told reporters on Sunday.

During the Mariners' season finale, a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, the Seattle Times reported that Wilson was informed of the club's decision before the game.

"This season has been very difficult, and of course the results have not been what any of us had expected," Wilson said after the win. "As a result, it was concluded that today is my last day as manager of the Seattle Mariners."

Wilson, 57, a former catcher for the Mariners, took over as manager when the club fired Scott Servais during the 2024 season. Last season, after leading Seattle to a 90-72 record and an American League West title, he finished in third place in AL Manager of the Year voting, behind Toronto's John Schneider and Cleveland's Stephen Vogt, who won the award.

But this season was a struggle in Seattle. Even with Sunday's victory, the Mariners finished 76-86. They will head into the offseason with a third-place standing in the AL West, after being officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday.

As the calendar turned to May, Seattle was in the thick of a mediocre division race at 16-16, and managed to pull of its only winning month in May, at 15-13. But the summer months were not kind to Wilson's team. A 13-14 June was followed by a 9-15 July.

Seattle's offense simply could not replicate the magic from a season before, and catcher Cal Raleigh was at the head of that line. The All-Star finished second in AL MVP voting behind Aaron Judge last season after finishing with 60 home runs and 125 RBIs. A year later, he closed with 23 and 69.

As of Sept. 4, Raleigh's WAR had shrunk from 7.2 last season to to 0.9, and along the way, he had authored a higher strikeout rate and a much lower hard-hit rate. The Mariners finished ninth in the majors in runs per game in 2025, but spent parts of this season dead last.

In Sunday's postgame media availability, Wilson also told reporters that the Mariners have interest in keeping him in the organization in a different capacity, an option he will discuss with his family.