Seattle Mariners manager: Jason Kanzler gets job over Joe Espada

Houston Chronicle · Matt Young · 2026-11-03 17:21 UTC

The Seattle Mariners had reportedly narrowed down their finalists to former Astros coaches Jazon Kanzler and Joe Espada before making their decision.

The Seattle Mariners hired a former Houston Astros coach as their next manager, but it’s not Joe Espada. The Mariners announced former Astros hitting coach Jason Kanzler as their new manager Tuesday.

Multiple outlets had reported that the Mariners, who fired Dan Wilson just a year after he took the team to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, had narrowed their options to Kanzler and Espada with both former Astros coaches going through a third round of interviews last week. The Mariners went 76-86 in 2026, a year after winning 90 games in 2025.

“Our goal in this process was finding a manager with the ability to challenge all of us to improve,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement released by the team. “Jason has the mindset, expertise, communication skills and intensity to help create a championship standard here in Seattle.”

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