Dan Wilson won’t return as Mariners manager in 2027

As fans made their way into T-Mobile Park for the final game of possibly the most disappointing season in franchise history, Mariners players and staff gathered for one last team meeting before taking the field on a crisp, sunny Sunday afternoon.

This sort of season-ending meeting without an appearance in the postseason is never enjoyable. And for this Mariners team, which had World Series expectations, it represented a colossal and collective failure.

But for Dan Wilson, a man who has devoted his professional baseball career to the Mariners, it was a meeting to say goodbye.

After thanking everyone for their efforts, the Mariners manager informed the group that he would not be returning in 2027.

Following the Mariners’ 7-3 win over the Angels, Wilson read a statement confirming his departure.

“This season has been very difficult and of course the results have not been what any of us have expected,” Wilson said his voice shaking with emotion. “As a result, it was concluded that today is my last day as manager of the Seattle Mariners.”

Asked if it was his decision, or if the decision was made for him, Wilson responded: “I’ve been in baseball a while and this is what happens, managers shoulder the blame and shoulder the responsibility. This is obviously difficult and my family and I are still processing it, and we’ll get through it.”

About five minutes after Wilson made the announcement, the Mariners released a statement announcing that following conversations this week, “it was concluded that Dan Wilson will not return as Field Manager in 2027.”

“Collectively we failed to meet our own expectations this season,” Jerry Dipoto, the team’s president of baseball operations, said in the statement. “Dan and I both care deeply about this organization, these players, and the future of the Mariners. After much discussion, it was concluded that a new direction is best for 2027 and beyond.”

Acquired by the Mariners in a trade in 1993, Wilson has been with the organization in some capacity since. When his playing career finished, he worked in player development while helping out on the team’s broadcasts and serving as an ambassador for the organization. His genuine kindness, affable personality and everyman qualities made him a fan favorite since arriving as an unproven catcher.

“If you ask anybody, nobody will ever say one ill word about him,” said catcher Cal Raleigh, who has been close with Wilson since he was drafted out of Florida State in 2018. “He’s a great person. He’ll do anything for you. He’s just a great, great human being in every aspect of life. It makes it that much more difficult.”

The Mariners have offered Wilson an opportunity to remain in the organization in a different role, though it’s unclear what that would entail.

“It’s a matter of being able to step away for a little bit and process for a minute and then begin to look at options within the organization,” Wilson said.

Wilson’s removal didn’t come as a surprise. There had been growing speculation and rumors that the Mariners would make a managerial change after the season. Internally, it became evident that the front office wanted a new voice to lead the team.

“I feel terrible,” Raleigh said. “I feel responsible. I think every guy in this clubhouse does. Unfortunately, that’s how it goes. It’s a business sometimes, and unfortunately that’s what happens when you don’t perform.”

The guilt felt by the players was palpable.

“With big league managers, it’s like you wear so much of what goes on throughout the season,” Bryan Woo said. “If the team does well, it’s because of the players. If the team struggles, it’s because of the coaches, the managers. And he wore so much this year, and it’s tough. I think as a group we failed him much more than than he failed us.”

Dipoto will now hire his third manager since being hired in September of 2015.

As the Mariners floundered during the 2026 season, failing to play anything close to consistent baseball, there was growing demand by the fanbase for Wilson to be fired. Internally, the disconnect between Wilson and the front office and baseball operations department was growing. They had differing beliefs about what would make the team successful.

But the front office and ownership group opted to stick with Wilson out of respect, wanting him to finish the season while hoping against odds and past performance that the team might make a late push into the playoffs.

As summer turned to fall in September, it became obvious that a miracle run wasn’t coming. The Mariners struggled to beat bad teams to the point where they became one of them. From July 6 to the end of the season, the Mariners posted a 28-42 record in their final 70 games, fifth-worst in baseball over that span.

“Not how we wanted it to turn it,” Wilson said. “That’s just how these things go. It’s been a difficult season. It’s been a difficult stretch when you kind of contrast that with the joy and the incredible season that we had last year.”

Wilson finished with a 187-171 record as a manager while leading the 2025 team to its fourth American League West title and fourth appearance in the American League Championship Series.

Wilson replaced Scott Servais, the second-winningest manager in team history, who was fired on Aug. 22, 2024, following an awful 1-8 road trip that dropped the team’s record to 64-64. Servais was less than two seasons removed from leading the 2022 Mariners to the postseason for the first time since 2001. 

There was a belief that Servais, who was in the final year of his contract, was a little too controlling and too hands-on in his approach, which the players were starting to outgrow. Wilson pushed for the players to take ownership and ceded some of the leadership aspects to the likes of Raleigh, J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodríguez and Luis Castillo.

When the Mariners named Wilson as Servais’ replacement, it wasn’t just for the rest of the season. He had no “interim” tag. Wilson was the new manager moving forward, which was a curious, if not unusual, decision. 

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The Mariners justified the decision believing that Wilson was right for the job instead of going through a search after the 2024 season.

In 2025, with the help of Raleigh’s magical 60-homer season, Wilson led the Mariners to a 90-72 record and the team’s first division title since 2001. Seattle defeated the Tigers in the American League Division Series in five games and seemed poised to win the American League Championship Series.

But Wilson’s decision to bring in Eduard Bazardo, and not closer Andres Muñoz, to pitch to George Springer in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS proved regrettable. Springer hit a soul-crushing three-run homer off Bazardo, turning Seattle’s 3-1 lead into 4-3 deficit. The Mariners wouldn’t recover, losing the game and the series.