Mariners former manager Scott Servais hired by the Padres

Scott Servais is back in the Majors sooner than anticipated by many, with the ex Mariners skipper becoming a special assistant in San Diego.

There isn’t much news coming out of Seattle at the moment, save for the Mariners claiming Hagen Danner and Tyler Jay off waivers. In fact arguably a bigger piece of Mariners-connected news came out over the weekend, from outside the Pacific Northwest.

As first reported by Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required), former Mariners manager Scott Servais has been hired by the San Diego Padres. He will serve as a special assistant for baseball operations and player development.

It is somewhat of a surprise to see Servais get back into the game so soon, with the overriding belief that he was still hurt over how his tenure ended in Seattle. However, agreeing to join the Padres shows how much love he has for baseball, clearly believing he has a lot left to offer.

Not Servais’ first connection with the Padres

Interestingly, Servais actually interviewed with the Padres back in 2015 for their managerial position, before the club went in a different direction. As fate would have it, the 57-year-old would go on to become Mariners manager in time for the 2016 season.

Servais went on to produce five winnings seasons for the club during his time in Seattle, becoming just the second ever Mariners manager to lead them to the playoffs, in 2022. He also sits second all-time in franchise history among all managers, with 680 wins. (Well ahead of Jim Lefebvre in third place, with 233 wins.)

However, things came to an unfortunate end for the La Crosse, Wisconsin native last season, after at one point being 44-31 and holding a 10-game lead in the AL West. The Mariners subsequently went 20-33. which ended with a disastrous 1-8 road trip during August that resulted in his firing.

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Link between the Mariners and Padres

Servais’ hiring should make for some interesting times given the connection between the Mariners and Padres, who play annually for the Vedder Cup. The clubs also share the Peoria Sports Complex during Spring Training, which this year will see them play each other four times in the buildup to the 2025 regular season.

We of course join most other people in wishing Servais all the best in his new role with the Padres. Further, we predict that at some point he will return to managing a Major League club, but for now, he’s landed on his feet in sunny San Diego.

How do you rate Servais’ tenure in Seattle? Overall, do you believe his time managing the Mariners was a success or a failure? Let us know in the comments section below.