This one is a bit of a stunner, as Chicago Cubs farm director Jason Kanzler is no longer simply a candidate to replace Dan Wilson in 2027, the 36-year-old Cubs exec now appears to be a finalist to become the new Seattle Mariners manager.
It’s a shocking twist in the Mariners’ manager search, but you can’t say Jerry Dipoto isn’t opposed to trying new things as Seattle’s president of baseball operations. Kanzler has big-league coaching experience, including serving as the Houston Astros’ assistant hitting coach in 2023, but he’s focused on player development with the Cubs for the past three seasons.
Meanwhile, former Astros’ manager Joe Espada is another finalist, as the Mariners have moved on to in-person interviews, which Kanzler will be a part of.
Via MLB.com.
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At least two candidates will meet with club brass at T-Mobile Park — former Astros manager Joe Espada and Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler.
The in-person interviews for Espada and Kanzler will feature a carwash of meetings, spanning ownership, the front office and members of the coaching staff that were retained for 2027, among others. Some within the organization that will be included in this week’s process explicitly flew into town to take part, in addition to Espada and Kanzler.
It’s unclear if this represents a “finalist” stage — though for both candidates, it will be their third round of interviews, following virtual meetings earlier this month. The in-person confabs will be the first that include the Major League coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Rocco Baldelli, previously named a candidate for the Seattle job, reportedly withdrew from consideration this past weekend, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
It would certainly be an expected name, because although we’ve seen other front offices take risks on first-time managers, those are usually guys with recent MLB playing experience. We’ll see where this process ends up, but you have to imagine Kanzler is interviewing incredibly well if he is now in the final stages of Seattle’s hiring process.
(Previous Update)
The Seattle Mariners are currently one of three teams seeking a new manager after the 2026 season. After missing the playoffs and finishing 76-86, the Mariners decided not to bring back Dan Wilson for 2027. Now, as the team heads into the final stage of its managerial search, a surprising candidate has emerged from the Chicago Cubs.
No, it’s not bench coach Ryan Flaherty, who has been Craig Counsell’s bench coach since the 2024 season; it’s the Cubs’ director of player development, Jason Kanzler.
According to The Athletic, Kanzler is one of three known candidates for the Mariners vacant manager job.
Via The Athletic.
In their ongoing search for a new manager, the Seattle Mariners have identified a group of candidates that includes an outside-the-box option in Chicago Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler, plus former Houston Astros manager Joe Espada and Los Angeles Dodgers special assistant Rocco Baldelli, according to league sources briefed on the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation candidly.
Kanzler worked closely with Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña, who blossomed into the 2022 World Series MVP at the end of his rookie year. Kanzler also developed a good relationship with Alex Bregman in Houston, to a degree that he helped lead the Cubs’ presentation to the free agent before the All-Star third baseman signed a five-year, $175 million contract last winter.
Kanzler, who is now 36, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round out of the University at Buffalo in 2013. The outfielder played three minor league seasons, reaching High-A Ball in 2015 before stepping away from pro baseball. Kanzler did remain close to the game, becoming a coach in the Cape Cod League and he was eventually hired by the Houston Astros prior to the 2019 season as a minor-league hitting coordinator.
Kanzler isn’t lacking big-league coaching experience; the Astros promoted him to Houston’s MLB staff in 2022, and in 2023 he served as the team’s assistant hitting coach. Since then, Kanzler has served as the Cubs’ farm director, but compared with Joe Espada and Rocco Baldelli, his experience pales in comparison.
Espada managed the Astros from 2024-26 and previously spent 13 years as an MLB coach with three organizations. Meanwhile, Baldelli managed the Twins from 2019-25.
If the Mariners do pick Kanzler as their new manager, then the Cubs will have to do more shuffling in their front office. The team has reportedly poached Steve Miller from the Tampa Bay Rays to become the new international scouting director. The Cubs have also made a few more player-development changes for 2026, shifting some roles within the front office.
