Lloyd McClendon will not return as Mariners manager in 2016, the team announced on Friday.
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Although the Mariners thrived under McClendon when he first took over in 2009, the club has regressed over the last two seasons. The move is believed to be connected to the firing of general manager Jack Zduriencik, with new GM Jerry DiPoto seeking to bring in his own manager. Inheriting a 71-91 team fresh off having Eric Wedge decline a contract extension, pack up, and scorch the earth on his way out McClendon, like (and very unlike) Don Wakamatsu before him managed to surprise everyone his first year.
It was nothing personal, which is precisely the point: If Dipoto had regarded McClendon as a trusted confidante, the skipper – the only Mariners manager other than Lou Piniella to win more games than he lost – is back for a third season.
Following the hiring of Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president Kevin Mather released a statement talking about the new general manager.
Longtime Padres manager Bud Black, who went to high school in Longview, Wash., about two hours south of Seattle, is expected to be a candidate as well. Both have said that the initial meetings went well but McClendon acknowledged in an interview for the pregame show that the decision all in all should be a simple matter for Dipoto. The team finished one game out of the postseason in 2014 but finished far below expectations this season.
Dipoto was hired on September 29 after previously serving as general manager with the Los Angeles Angels. Players need to be energized.
Woodward, 39, just completed his second season as a big-league coach and also draws strong marks from players.
In a report for CBS Sports, “people familiar with the situation” in Seattle state that McClendon will be replaced as the manager of the team.
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Scott Servais was also a Dipoto hire in Anaheim, and many expect him to come to Seattle for a front office job in scouting or player development.
