Why Ken Rosenthal's kiss of death for Mariners' Dan Wilson has merit

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is "rather confident" that time is running out on Dan Wilson's time as the Seattle Mariners' manager. He's as plugged-in as they come, and lest anyone forget: He had the news of Scott Servais' firing before anyone else did.

Indeed, Rosenthal knew that Servais was going to be fired in August of 2024 before Servais himself even found out. It's possible that this history is nothing more than an interesting parallel to what's going on now. Yet the cold reality is that Wilson has looked like a dead man walking for months, and you can watch Rosenthal's hit on "Foul Territory" and come away wondering if he's sitting on a revelation that the Mariners have already made up their mind as this season slides toward an October-less finish.

"[The Mariners] are a team that I am almost… well, let's put it this way, I am rather confident that they're going to move on from Dan Wilson," Rosenthal said. "That seems to be the one where the writing is on the wall."

If a comment can be both cryptic and obvious at the same time, this is it.

It's also bound to elicit different emotions, including relief. Wilson as the Mariners' manager is a breakup that needs to happen for the sake of both sides. Nobody is happy that Wilson's reputation has been sullied by this experience. Alas, nobody's happy about the experience either.

Why didn't the Mariners act sooner on Dan Wilson, as they did with Scott Servais?

The other emotion that is fair game right now is outrage.

Wilson's shortcomings as a manager were plainly there even in 2025, as the Mariners were winning 90 games and marching to Game 7 of the ALCS. The Xs and Os of the game often seemed foreign to him, which only grew more frustrating as his managerial experience grew beyond the zero games he had when he replaced Servais. And while all signs have always pointed towards Wilson being a chill guy in the clubhouse, there has never seemed to be any real leadership involved.

A moment when the walls began to close in was always possible, and there hasn't been a point in 2026 when the walls have kept a safe distance. The Mariners have been a mediocre-to-bad team all year, and Wilson's various fumbles and general ineptitude have been as consistent a storyline as injuries or any other explanation.

So, why is he still here in September when Servais was shown the door in August of a similar season in 2024? Especially, that is, knowing that sacrificing Servais opened the door to a 21-13 rally that nearly saved that season?

If there are satisfactory answers to these questions, we'd love to hear them. Because from the outside looking in, it looks like management being overly willing to let players call the shots. One also can't help but wonder if the Mariners didn't want to throw a franchise Hall of Famer under the bus in a season that has largely been about celebrating said franchise's history.

If so, well, these are indeed real motivations for owner John Stanton and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. Yet the only motivation that should matter is winning games, and that's where the proof is ultimately in the pudding. The 78 losses this year are already the Mariners' most in a season since 2019.

If Wilson's head is doomed to roll anyway, it's only fair to wonder about how many of those losses might have been avoided if they had acted sooner.

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