As reported Thursday, Scott Servais was a front-runner for the Mariners managing job. Our own Chris Cotillo opined that a decision could be made in the near future and it appears the near future is nigh. Mike DiGiovanna for the Los Angeles Times broke the news Friday morning:
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
DiGiovanna frames the news deliberately, showing how Servais and Dipoto had a working relationship in Anaheim. Having only been a front office man before, Servais will be joining the Mariners as manager -- a role he has never taken on before. Dipoto perhaps favored Servais' baseball acumen over any other candidate's managerial experience per se.
Lloyd McClendon was relieved of managerial duties in early October. After a promising roster saw some lackluster results, Mariners' general manager Jack Zduriencik was let go in late August and Dipoto was hired one month later. Dipoto still looks to be settling in and establishing the people he wants around him to help make the Mariners a winner. He is likely hoping to establish better working relationships in this new job than he did previously with the Angels and Mike Scioscia.
Servais joined the Angels organization back in 2011 so there isn't a lot of track record by which to judge his work. However, Tim Bogar -- another assistant general manager from the Angels front office -- is still reported to join the Servais-Dipoto reunion in Seattle as well. That Dipoto and the Mariners are ironing out these managerial details will hopefully make more time to focus on the roster and its construction at the conclusion of the World Series.