Morosi shares insight on the M’s manager candidate we know the least about

The names that have come up as candidates or potential targets in the Seattle Mariners’ manager search mostly have one fact in common, which is that they’re former managers.

But the most recent new name to enter the conversation, Jason Kanzler, isn’t.

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It was reported Wednesday by The Athletic that Kanzler is among the names on the Mariners’ list in their hunt for Dan Wilson’s replacement.

Kanzler, 36, is an unknown commodity as a managerial candidate. He spent the past three seasons as the director of player development for the Chicago Cubs. Prior to that, he spent five seasons working in the Houston Astros’ organization. He was hired by Houston as a minor-league hitting coordinator in 2019 and was promoted to the big league staff in 2022 when the Astros won their last World Series. In 2023, he was given the title of assistant hitting coach.

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi shared his insight on Kanzler with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Wednesday.

“I think that his resume reminds me a lot of the resume that a Blake Butera had when he was hired by the Nationals this past year, which was universally regarded as an excellent hire,” Morosi said. “Maybe a little bit ahead of his time, effectively, in terms of how quickly he got the job at a relatively young age, but a very capable manager. And I think that’s how I would describe Kanzler.”

Like Kanzler, Butera was a former player who spent time in the minor leagues but never reached the majors. However, one key difference is that Butera became a minor league manager in Tampa Bay’s farm system at 25 years old in 2018 before spending one year (2023) on the major league staff and the next season in player development.

Kanzler having no managerial experience may give many Mariners fans pause. The club’s past two managers have been first-time hires, which ultimately resulted in just two playoff appearances over an 11-season stretch. And president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has expressed the club’s desire to hire a manager with experience, though he said it is not a requirement.

However, Morosi believes Kanzler’s candidacy is more about the Mariners getting to know the person than Kanzler being in serious consideration for the job.

“It would go against what Jerry Dipoto has said publicly about wanting to have an experienced manager,” Morosi said. “I would back up and say, as an executive, if you’re doing an interview, you allow yourself the permission to be wowed and blown away to where: Oh my gosh, I’ve got to go against what I thought I was going to say about needing to have an experienced manager.

“There are also times that a managerial candidate is part of the process because it’s a good opportunity for the front office to get to know a candidate who maybe they don’t know as much about. Kanzler’s not someone whose name has been attached to a bunch of searches in the past. So, get to know him now (and) maybe he’s a bench coach, maybe he’s someone that you hire the next time.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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