Mariners hire Cubs executive with no managerial experience as new manager

Jason Kanzler will be the second-youngest manager in baseball at 36

Nov 3, 2026 at 12:06 pm ET • 1 min read

After a colossally disappointing 2026 season, the Seattle Mariners are bringing in a first-time manager. The Mariners have named Chicago Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler their new manager, the team announced Tuesday. Seattle fired manager Dan Wilson after the season.

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

The Mariners will be Kanzler's first managerial job at any level. At 36, he will be the second-youngest manager in baseball, older than only 34-year-old Washington Nationals skipper Blake Butera.

Bringing in a manager with zero previous managerial experience at any level is a rare move, certainly, though it is not unprecedented. Most notably, the New York Yankees hired Aaron Boone straight from the broadcasting booth in 2018. Boone had no managerial or coaching experience at any level. He's led the Yankees to the postseason eight times in nine seasons.

"I am thrilled to join the Mariners organization and I'm looking forward to hitting the ground running," Kanzler said in a statement. "This team has an immense amount of talent in all facets of the game, and my coaching staff and I are excited to access and unlock this team's full potential."  

Kanzler may have no prior managerial experience, but this will not be his first time on a big-league staff. He was a major-league coach with the Houston Astros in 2022 and their assistant hitting coach in 2023, and had coached in their farm system previously. The Cubs hired Kanzler to oversee their player development in 2024.

Former Astros manager Joe Espada was reportedly the other finalist for the Mariners job.    

The Mariners went 76-86 this past season and finished five games back in the woebegone AL West. A year ago, they went to Game 7 of the ALCS and were five outs away from their first-ever trip to the World Series. Seattle entered 2026 as a trendy World Series pick and instead fell flat, mostly because so many core hitters underperformed.

Kanzler will be the team's third manager since Dipoto was hired to run baseball operations in September 2015, joining Scott Servais (2015-24) and Wilson (2024-26).