You’ve probably either heard this or said it yourself: Catchers seem to make the best managers. The Seattle Mariners are certainly hoping so with their new hire.
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal initially reported that Scott Servais, who had been the assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Angels, was the front-runner for the managerial gig in Seattle. Reports then began to trickle out that the choice was basically a toss between Servais and Tim Bogar, who was also in Anaheim last season as the special assistant to the GM. Either Servais would be the manager and Bogar would be the bench coach or Bogar had the skipper’s job with Servais as his right-hand man.
But as Friday morning, it sounds like Servais is indeed the guy. LA Times Angels beat writer Mike DiGiovanna all but made it official:
Source: Scott Servais will be new #Mariners MGR. Announcement expected today. He was #Angels asst GM under new Ms GM Jerry Dipoto.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) October 23, 2015
Neither hire should be a surprise, given their association with Jerry Dipoto, the former Angels GM who was just hired for that same position in Seattle. Servais likely wasn’t going to stay in Anaheim, with the Angels just hiring Billy Eppler to be their new GM. Besides, according to DiGiovanna, Servais butted heads with manager Mike Scioscia in the past, which surely means he wasn’t sticking around.
Servais was with the Angels for the past four seasons, overseeing scouting and player development. Prior to that, he had a similar position with the Rangers, overseeing the team’s minor league system and consulting on trades and free agent signings. He was a catcher in the major leagues for 11 seasons (most of them as a backup), playing with the Astros, Cubs (with whom he largely started for three seasons), Giants and Rockies.
For a club that needs to infuse some young talent and develop some talent to go with their high-priced veterans, Servais’ experience in scouting and development would seem to be a good fit. Bogar will compensate for his lack of managerial experience, having managed in the minors and coached in the majors (with a stint as interim manager in Texas after Ron Washington resigned in 2004), which is probably why he was initially viewed as Dipoto’s top choice for manager.
Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo, D-Backs Triple-A manager Phil Nevin and Red Sox special assistant Jason Varitek also interviewed for the managerial position vacated by Lloyd McClendon, following his dismissal by Dipoto.
The Mariners are expected to announce Servais as their skipper on Friday afternoon.
