Passan: Mariners went with upside in hiring Jason Kanzler

In the days leading up to the Seattle Mariners’ managerial hire, former Houston Astros manager Joe Espada appeared to be the favorite.

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The Mariners had stated they preferred to hire a new manager with previous experience. And with the reported finalists being Espada and Chicago Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler, Espada was the only of the two with prior managerial experience.

But in the end, the Mariners announced Tuesday they were hiring Kanzler to be the club’s 22nd manager.

During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan said he felt Kanzler would have been a more ideal fit for a team looking to rebuild like the Los Angeles Angels, but the Mariners ultimately went with the upside hire.

“That’s what this is. I think this is a risky hire, but I also think that it is the hire that by a long shot has the chance to be the best. The Mariners went for the upside play here,” Passan said. “Joe Espada would have been a perfectly safe and reasonable choice. They did not want to go safe and reasonable. They wanted to go with the guy who could deliver them a championship.

“And I respect that approach, but I also acknowledge that when you’re dealing with a guy who’s never done it before, there are risks involved and that this thing could potentially go sideways.”

M’s following a trend

Kanzler isn’t a name that was on the radar of many when the M’s first announced they were parting ways with Dan Wilson at the end of this past season, but Passan said he would have been on his long list of candidates.

“I think it’s because we’ve seen more of this type of hire in recent years. I understand Blake Butera with Washington, for example, had managed in the minor leagues before with the Tampa Bay Rays, but he was in more of a developmental role and farm director role – same thing that Kanzler was doing – when the Nationals hired him. That was a home run of a hire,” Passan said of the Nationals’ 34-year-old manager who was hired last offseason.

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Passan described Kanzler as someone who approaches the game in a “holistic manner” and called him “not your old-school manager.” He said he heard plenty of praise about the 36-year-old from those he talked to within the Cubs’ organization after hearing Kanzler’s name come up on the Mariners’ manager search.

“Everybody was effusive in their praise of him,” Passan said. “Like, this guy gets the best out of people. And that’s what you want to hear, right?”

Among the biggest fans of Kanzler is three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, who Passan also said was “effusive” in his praise for Kanzler. Bregman’s relationship with Kanzler dates back to when they were both in Houston, and in a recent article from the The Athletic co-authored by Astros beat reporter Chandler Rome, Kanzler was credited for the Cubs being able to sign Bregman to a five-year deal last offseason.

The challenges for Kanzler

Passan said the big question about Kanzler is if he can translate the success he’s had with minor leaguers into bringing the best out of major leaguers.

“How much different is the major league clubhouse going to be for him?” Passan said. “And what’s he going to have to change about his approach to accommodate the fact that he’s now not dealing with guys who want to be in the big leagues, but guys who are already there and in many cases have been there for a long time?”

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Passan said another difficult task Kanzler will have is developing the type of relationships necessary to lead a team with a work stoppage expected to begin at the start of December.

“It’s quite difficult with the lockout coming in less than a month at this point and your ability to forge those relationships on a shortened timeline, you got to figure all that out before you get to spring training,” Passan said. “And it’s tough, it’s going to be a tough task for anybody with Jason Kanzler’s level of experience to do it this way. But clearly the Mariners have faith in that, and clearly the Mariners are going to be supportive in facilitating that happening. And then it’s just a matter of, does he vibe with the guys?

“And I’m not saying that you necessarily have to have everybody on board or advocating for you, but you do need their trust and you do need their respect.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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