Former Mariners manager fully out of luck for 2025 after Marlins fill vacancy

The final MLB managerial opening was filled Sunday when the Miami Marlins announced the hire of former Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Clayton McCollough, and left former Seattle Mariners skipper Scott Servais remains – rather puzzlingly – without a job for the 2024 season.

Servais, who was fired by the Mariners in August after eight-plus seasons, had never been linked by any MLB insiders to the Marlins vacancy. Still, it seems odd that he wouldn't have been considered for any of the three managerial openings we've seen filled already.

Servais was linked to the Cincinnati Reds at the beginning of the offseason after they fired David Bell, but Cincinnati quickly filled the opening by bringing former Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona out of retirement.

Despite being fired amid a second-half collapse, Servais is easily the second-best manager in Mariners history behind Lou Pinella. He finished his tenure in Seattle with a 680-642 record, leading the club to a playoff appearance in 2022 and winning a Wild Card series over the Toronto Blue Jays. He has always been well-liked and respected by his players, but as struggles mounted in Seattle last season, it became evident that a change was needed.

Former Mariners manager Scott Servais fully out of luck for 2025 after Marlins fill vacancy

With the Marlins' hire of McCullough, Servais has officially been shut out of the managerial hiring cycle for 2025. All the teams with openings – Cincinnati, Miami and the Chicago White Sox – have since found their skippers.

Plenty of other teams, such as the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, may have once been considered candidates to make a change at the manager position this offseason, but they have all chosen to stick with their current options for 2025.

Servais, then, is out of luck when it comes to landing a managerial job in 2025 – if he wants one, that is. Practically nothing is known about the 57-year-old's career aspirations and whether he wants to manage again. He hasn't officially announced his retirement from baseball, which indicates that he's still open to opportunities; he just may have to wait another year to get one (or if things go terribly wrong for one of the aforemention teams in the middle of the season).

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