3 reasons why Mariners are likely to fire Dan Wilson after 2026 season

3 reasons why Mariners are likely to fire Dan Wilson after 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There are plenty of teams that have been major disappointments during the 2026 MLB season. The New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Cincinnati Reds are just a few. The Seattle Mariners might be the biggest disappointment.

While the Mets and Blue Jays stand out as huge disappointments, the Mariners have a real case as the biggest disappointment this year. In a wide-open American League and a weak AL West, the Mariners have failed to capitalize on a great opportunity.

With the 2026 season almost over, and the Mariners looking likely to miss the postseason, Dan Wilson’s job is very much on the line. Andy McCullough of The Athletic revealed three reasons why Wilson will be fired by the end of the year.

3 reasons why Dan Wilson will be fired by the Mariners

“The Mariners do not play a particularly crisp brand of baseball,” McCullough writes. “Nearly a quarter of their at-bats end in strikeouts. They rank 27th in FanGraphs’ metric measuring base-running value and 30th in defensive value.”

Thanks to a combination of poor base-running, the league’s worst defense, and their high strikeout rate, the Mariners have been a huge letdown this season.

Their struggles aren’t solely on Wilson, as players like Cal Raleigh, struggling for no discernible reason, cannot be blamed on the manager. But these three highlighted issues are part of where Wilson is deserving of blame.

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Entering Thursday’s slate of games, the Mariners are 66-74, which is a terrible record considering the talent on their roster. But it’s somehow just 5.0 games out of the AL West lead.

Seattle’s offense ranks second-worst in OPS with a .650, tied with the Cleveland Guardians. Their 1,217 strikeouts are the eighth-most in MLB.

“The lack of fundamentals looks more problematic when the talent is underperforming,” McCullough writes. “And that does reflect on the manager. Which is why he probably won’t be the manager next season.”

Thanks to poor defense, base-running, and a propensity to strike out often, the Mariners have had a rough 2026 season. A lot of the fault lies with Wilson, and is likely why he’s fired by the end of the season.

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