The Mariners said that they wanted experience. A developing list of managerial candidates now reflects it. Jon Heyman of the New York Post identified Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde and David Ross as possible candidates for Seattle's opening. All three have managed in the majors. All three have won a division. And all three have also been fired.
Hiring an experienced manager means hiring someone with some scar tissue. Seattle's job is to determine what each candidate learned from their past experiences.
They have already received permission to meet with Houston Astros manager Joe Espada. We recently examined what Espada could offer as a division rival who has seen Seattle's strengths, weaknesses and predictable stretches of offensive misery from across the field.
Baldelli, Hyde and Ross remain possible candidates rather than confirmed interviewees. Still, their appearance in the search offers another indication that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has heard the criticism. After replacing first-time manager Scott Servais with another first-time manager Dan Wilson, Seattle appears interested in somebody who will not need directions to the manager's office.
Experience gets these three into the discussion. It doesn't answer whether any of them should get the job.
Baldelli probably has the strongest overall rsum of the three. He finished 527-505 across seven seasons with the Minnesota Twins, reached the postseason three times and won American League Manager of the Year after leading Minnesota to 101 wins in 2019. He has managed a contender and worked inside a modern organization that placed a heavy emphasis on collaboration and information.
The Mariners already have a powerful baseball-operations department. Baldelli would have to explain where he challenged Minnesota's process, what he would do differently in Seattle and how he would address a team that became careless defensively and far too easy to pitch against.
Baldelli is known to be pretty even-keeled. His personality could help stabilize the clubhouse. Seattle must determine whether that calm persona would also carry enough force when standards slip.
Hyde knows what a broken organization looks like. And he also knows what it takes to survive long enough to help rebuild one. He managed the Baltimore Orioles through consecutive 100-loss seasons before their young talent began reaching the majors. Baltimore eventually won 101 games and the AL East in 2023, earning Hyde Manager of the Year honors. The Orioles returned to the postseason in 2024 before a 15-28 start in 2025 cost him his job.
The Mariners are not rebuilding, but they need a manager capable of connecting younger players with an established major-league core. Hyde has done that under miserable circumstances and championship expectations.
His postseason record and Baltimore's collapse raises some skepticism. The Orioles went winless across five postseason games during his tenure. A talented roster never turned its regular-season growth into a playoff run.
Ross would arrive with instant name recognition and a reputation built during 15 seasons as a major-league catcher. He won World Series championships with Boston in 2013 and Chicago in 2016, then managed the Cubs for four seasons.
The results were pretty up and down. Ross finished 262-284, won the NL Central during the shortened 2020 season and never returned to the playoffs. Chicago faded during the final weeks of 2023 before replacing him with Craig Counsell.
Ross would probably command a clubhouse quickly. Players know his career, his preparation and the role he played on championship teams. Seattle should still resist becoming hypnotized by the catcher label. Wilson was a respected former catcher with deep Mariners ties, and none of that prevented the season from unraveling. Scott Servais, also a former catcher. Ross must offer more than leadership stories and two World Series rings.
Baldelli, Hyde and Ross fit Seattle's stated preference. Each has managed a major-league clubhouse, dealt with pressure and experienced the unpleasant end of the job.
What would any of them change after their shortcomings with their last clubs? The Mariners need someone who can protect the organization's pitching infrastructure, rebuild its daily standards and demand more from a lineup that spent too much of 2026 waiting to turn things around.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/mariners/onsi as 3 More Experienced Candidates Emerge in Mariners Manager Search .
