Former MLB catcher Scott Servais named Mariners manager

The Mariners have selected Scott Servais, a former MLB catcher who worked in the Angels' front office, to be the team's new manager.

BY SHANNON DRAYER

Oct 23, 2015, 8:31 AM Updated: 2:27 pm

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Scott Servais, right, spent 11 seasons as an MLB catcher and come from the Angels' front office. (AP)

(AP)

Scott Servais has been named Mariners manager, the team confirmed late Friday morning.

The team will hold a press conference to introduce Servais at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Servais, 48, is a former big-league catcher with a long history with new Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto. After retiring as a player in 2002, he worked for the Cubs for two years as a roving catching instructor then joined Dipoto – who was then director of player personnel for the Rockies – as a pro scout with Colorado. He left the Rockies in 2006 to become the senior director of player development with the Rangers, then rejoined Dipoto in Anaheim as an assistant GM in 2011.

“Through the course of the 20-plus years I’ve known Scott, I’ve come to see him as one of the most complete, well balanced and inclusive baseball people in the industry,” Dipoto said in a press release. “I’ve been fortunate enough to call him a teammate as a player, while also having worked closely with him as an organizational leader in both Colorado and Los Angeles. He is a communicator with strong baseball acumen and leadership skills. I truly believe his strong character and career experiences as a player, coach and executive have prepared him for this opportunity.”

Servais becomes the 17th full-time manager in Mariners history.

“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to manage the Seattle Mariners,” Servais said. “It has long been my goal to manage a big league team and while I took a slightly different path than many, I am confident in my ability to lead. We have a terrific core of players and I’m looking forward to bringing in a coaching staff that will help me establish a winning culture here as we work toward putting a championship-caliber team on the field for the fans of the Northwest.”

Reports surfaced Thursday that Servais had become the “strong front-runner” to replace Lloyd McClendon, who Dipoto decided not to bring back as manager after the 2015 season ended.

Another assistant from Anaheim is believed to be joining Servais and Dipoto in Seattle as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Tim Bogar will be named Seattle’s bench coach. Bogar was a finalist for the manager position.

It is not known exactly how many finalists Dipoto considered for the manager position but other known candidates included Charlie Montoyo, Jason Varitek, Phil Nevin and Dave Roberts. Interestingly enough, none of those candidates have managed at the big-league level. Bogar was the bench coach for the Rangers and went 14-8 as the interim manager when Ron Washington resigned in 2014.

This is Dipoto’s first managerial hire as he inherited manager Mike Scioscia in Anaheim.