Seattle Mariners Manager Dan Wilson Talks About First Offseason in Current Role
The Seattle Mariners have more questions than answers with a little less than two weeks until the calendar officially turns into 2025.
The Mariners still need to find answers at first, second and third base before Opening Day arrives on March 27, 2025. And there hasn't been any ground made in that regard aside from trade and free agent rumors.
One thing that won't be in question is who Seattle's manager will be when the 2025 season begins.
Team Hall of Famer, long-time catcher and former team play-by-play announcer Dan Wilson was hired as the skipper on Aug. 22. He, along with then-hitting coach and current Senior Director of Hitting Strategy Edgar Martinez, helped lead the Mariners to a strong finish to the season.
Seattle went 21-13 in 34 games played with the coaching duo and the offense was top 10 in the league in many categories during that stretch.
The Mariners still ended up missing out on the playoffs by one game. But Wilson has expressed confidence in his team going into 2025.
Speaking of the offseason, Wilson is experiencing his first one as a major league manager. And, come February 2025, he'll experience his first Spring Training as a skipper.
In a recent story by MLB.com's Daniel Kramer, Wilson commented on going through his first offseason in his current role:
“I knew once we got to the Winter Meetings, things were going to accelerate pretty quickly. It feels like, in some ways, you get your nose above water and then the pool gets a lot deeper suddenly. But it’s just something that you kind of have to learn on the fly and experience. I feel like we’re getting to a point where we’re getting things a little bit more settled and starting to sort of look forward to what’s coming next year.”
In the same story, Wilson talked about deferring to team President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto and General Manager Justin Hollander when it comes to roster additions, choosing not to comment on the team's needs and instead talk up the roster he currently has:
“For me, it's really looking at the guys that we have. And I love the guys that we have -- the players and the pitching staff. We talk a lot about the pitching. We talk a lot about the defense. ... So we'll see. We'll see who the personnel are. Right now, with the guys that we’ve got, I feel very confident going forward with what we have and the players in place, and we'll just keep grinding and make adjustments as we go.”
Leo Rivas, walk-off winner.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) August 24, 2024
And the Mariners advance to 1-0 in the Dan Wilson era. pic.twitter.com/LaSYxTRrv5
There will likely be a few new faces for Wilson by the time catchers and pitchers report to camp on Feb. 10, 2025. But it seems like Wilson is more than comfortable with how the offseason is progressing. And it will be interesting to see how he, and the team, follow on the 34-game stretch that ended 2024.
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