6 Potential Mariners Manager Candidates to Replace Dan Wilson in 2027

The Mariners are about to tell us what they believe actually failed in 2026. They finished 76-86 one year after coming within one victory of the World Series. Dan Wilson is out, several coaches will not return and Jerry Dipoto now gets another opportunity to select the person responsible for leading a roster that was supposed to contend.

We now know that the plan for the next hire will have enough authority to construct his own staff, challenge the front office and establish the standards and culture that were too often missing during Seattle’s collapse. He must also inherit a strange assignment. He has to preserve one of baseball’s most respected pitching programs while rebuilding an offense and defense that became liabilities.

Torey Lovullo is the only person on this list connected to reported internal discussions. So we’re going to start with him. The remaining names are candidates we believe Seattle should consider, not people known to have interviewed for the position.

Six Candidates the Mariners Should Consider for Their Manager Opening

Torey Lovullo

This is the easiest name on the list, and the least surprising. Lovullo will sit near the top of most boards if his tenure in Arizona officially ends. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported that the Mariners have already discussed Lovullo internally and that he appears to be one of their leading candidates.

Lovullo has spent 10 seasons managing the Diamondbacks, led them to the 2023 National League pennant and just guided another imperfect Arizona roster to 86 victories. After hiring consecutive first-time major-league managers in Scott Servais and Wilson, the Mariners could decide that the dugout no longer needs another person learning the job in real time. But experience can’t become the entire argument.

The Dbacks have missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons since that pennant run. Lovullo has spent most of his managerial career hovering around .500. To be fair, he’s also been in an NL West division that’s had some powerhouses over the last decade. It’s not easy to be consistently chasing the Dodgers, Padres, and at times, the Giants.

The interview should determine how much control Lovullo wants over his coaching staff, how he would address Seattle’s accountability problems and whether he would be empowered to challenge the front office. He’s also a players’ coach and seems to be an overall good dude. He might be the safest candidate available. Seattle still must determine whether he is the right one.

Pete Woodworth

Woodworth would be the unconventional internal candidate who actually deserves a conversation. MLB.com reported that Woodworth and director of pitching strategy Trent Blank will return in 2027 and are under contract for two more seasons. That decision makes sense. Even after the rotation regressed during a disappointing season, Seattle’s pitching-development system remains one of the organization’s greatest strengths.

Dipoot has made it clear that they want to look at candidates outside of the organization. But let's entertain this idea for just a second. Woodworth has been the major-league pitching coach since 2020 and was named Baseball America’s Major League Coach of the Year in 2022. He has worked with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and the rest of a staff that became the foundation of Seattle’s contention window. He also has a long relationship with Cal Raleigh and has already helped establish a successful culture on one side of the clubhouse.

That gives him far more relevant day-to-day coaching experience than Wilson possessed when he took over. It also doesn’t mean he should get a promotion. Moving Woodworth into the manager’s office could weaken the exact department Seattle is trying to protect. It would also expose the Mariners to the same criticism that followed Wilson’s hiring: another familiar internal figure elevated without a broad external search.

His candidacy only works if Seattle believes his communication and leadership extend beyond pitching, and if he’s willing to build an experienced staff capable of addressing everything outside his specialty.

Ruben Niebla

Niebla offers some of Woodworth’s appeal without being another product of the Mariners’ existing structure. Niebla has been San Diego’s pitching coach since 2022 and was a finalist for the Padres’ managerial opening last offseason. After Craig Stammen received the job, San Diego retained Niebla and promoted him to pitching coach and associate manager.

Niebla is no longer being treated as someone whose knowledge begins and ends with pitch shapes. The Padres clearly view him as a broader organizational leader capable of contributing to game strategy, staff construction and clubhouse direction.

The Mariners would offer him a fascinating opportunity. The Mariners already have an established rotation, a respected pitching program and several young arms still working toward the majors. Niebla wouldn’t be asked to create that infrastructure from scratch. He could protect it, challenge it and bring lessons from another organization that has consistently been one of the best in run prevention. The Padres bullpen has been one of the best in the league over the years, a lot of that has to do with Niebla.

The obvious question is whether hiring another pitching specialist does enough to fix the rest of the team. Seattle would need Niebla to arrive with a serious plan for the hitting staff, defense and daily operation of the clubhouse.

Kai Correa

This would represent a different definition of experience. The stat nerd himself causes a raucous amongst fans whenever his name comes up.

He has never managed a full major-league season, but his résumé covers nearly every area in which Seattle failed. Correa served as the Giants’ bench coach and infield coach, briefly managed San Francisco after Gabe Kapler’s dismissal, then worked for Cleveland as field coordinator and director of defense, baserunning and game strategy. He spent 2026 as the Mets’ bench coach.

Correa also has legitimate local ties. He played and began his coaching career at the University of Puget Sound. Unlike another nostalgia-driven Mariners hire, however, those ties are geographical rather than organizational.

His work in defense and game strategy should immediately interest the Mariners. They did finish with baseball’s worst defense by several advanced measurements and repeatedly beat themselves with poor execution. Correa has built his reputation by connecting modern information with actual instruction rather than treating analytics as something handed down from the front office.

There’s plenty of risk here. He would become Seattle’s third consecutive manager without a full season of previous major-league managerial experience. He also spent 2026 inside a Mets organization that suffered its own spectacular collapse.

If the Mariners are serious about prioritizing prior managerial experience, Correa might not survive the first cut. If they are looking for someone who has spent years preparing for this specific job, he deserves a closer look.

Albert Pujols

This candidacy would be about much more than hiring a famous former player. The Mariners don’t just need a new hitting coach. They need a new hitting philosophy and a program that actually works.

This team finished near the bottom of the majors in nearly every meaningful offensive category, including 29th in batting average and OPS, 28th in runs and last in doubles. Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor all regressed.

Changing one instructor will not solve a problem that has survived multiple instructors. Seattle needs someone capable of establishing what a Mariners at-bat is supposed to look like. What better candidate to lead that conversation than Albert Pujols?

Pujols would still need an accomplished hitting staff capable of translating philosophy into individualized plans for nine different hitters every night. But few people could enter Seattle’s clubhouse with more credibility on this particular subject.

Pujols finished his career with a .296/.374/.544 slash line, 3,384 hits and 703 home runs. He combined elite power with extraordinary bat-to-ball ability and never struck out 100 times in a season. His career is proof that doing damage and controlling an at-bat don’t have to be competing ideas.

That is the balance Seattle has struggled to find. Pujols could set an organizational expectation around what needs to be done in the batter’s box. His presence wouldn’t guarantee that Rodríguez, Raleigh or Seattle’s young hitters suddenly rebound. It would, however, force the organization to articulate a much clearer offensive identity.

He also has more managerial experience than the casual observer might assume. Pujols led Leones del Escogido to both the Dominican Winter League championship and the Caribbean Series title in his first season managing. He then guided the Dominican Republic to the semifinals of the 2026 World Baseball Classic and has since moved into a baseball-operations leadership role in the Dominican league.

He would be the clearest signal that Seattle is finally willing to rethink how it develops, prepares and holds its hitters accountable.

Alex Cora

Cora is the headline candidate because nobody would mistake his hiring for another quiet continuation of the status quo. He won the 2018 World Series in his first season managing Boston and returned the Red Sox to the American League Championship Series in 2021. He finished his Boston tenure with a 620-541 record and would immediately become the most accomplished manager Dipoto has hired in Seattle.

He also carries the strongest personality on this list. Cora has managed stars, enormous expectations and one of the sport’s most unforgiving markets. He would walk into the Mariners clubhouse with immediate credibility and presumably enough leverage to demand meaningful input over the coaching staff and daily operation.

There are so many reasons here for hesitation. Cora was suspended for the 2020 season because of his role in Houston’s sign-stealing operation. Boston later became maddeningly inconsistent, with defense and fundamentals emerging as recurring problems before the Red Sox fired him following a 10-17 start in 2026.

There is also no guarantee he even wants the job. Cora declined an opportunity to immediately take over the Phillies because he wanted to spend time with his family.

Other Mariners Manager Candidates Worth Mentioning

Brandon Hyde, George Lombard, Carlos Mendoza, Danny Lehmann, Ryan Flaherty and Bob Melvin.

A Dream Candidate: Stephen Vogt

Vogt would probably sit at the top of Seattle’s board if he were available. But there’s no indication that he’s available, or even interested.

He remains under contract with Cleveland, where he has built one of the best managerial résumés in baseball. Acquiring him would likely require permission and trade compensation, with little reason for the Guardians to cooperate. The Mariners can make Cleveland say no, but they can’t build their search around a fantasy.

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