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As our own Mike Bates wrote this morning, the Mariners could be one of a few teams that make a change in their front office. Since taking over in 2008, Jack Zduriencik has helped lead Seattle to a record of 501-591, and has never had a team finish higher than third place in the AL West. In that span, he's had three different managers, and has had a shoddy trade history.
"He dealt away Doug Fister, Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard, and Michael Pineda, and got little in return. He willingly dealt for both Milton Bradley and Josh Lueke, and had the temerity to admit he hadn't done any homework on the latter. His acquisition of John Jaso for Lueke was fantastic, but then he ruined it by dealing him for MIcahel Morse. Other recent acquisitions like Austin Jackson, Corey Hart, Logan Morrison, J.A. Happ, and Mark Trumbo have been disasters." - Mike Bates
Zduriencik also hasn't had much luck in the draft recently, as Dustin Ackley, Mike Zunino, and Nick Franklin haven't panned out. 2015 was supposed to be different, and many pundits even picked the Mariners to represent the AL in the World Series, but things haven't worked out as planned. Unfortunately for Zduriencik, his failure to reach the playoffs this year could force him out of the job, and potential replacements for him are starting to pop up in various reports.
Yesterday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted that Zduriencik will "likely follow [Ruben] Amaro out the door, with Chicago White Sox President Kenny Williams coming in, unless Williams instead goes to the Toronto Blue Jays as club president." While that's still a possibility, Nightengale also added that a former Diamondbacks and Padres executive could be headed to Seattle if they choose to relieve Zduriencik of his duties.
Kevin Towers' name also is picking up steam if the #Mariners make a change. He has worked with most of their front office staff in SD/Pitt
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 20, 2015
Towers ran the Padres from 1995-2009, and the Diamondbacks from 2010-2014. His time in Arizona didn't end on the best note, and he infamously traded Justin Upton for just Brandon Drury, Nick Ahmed, Randall Delgado, Martin Prado, and Zeke Spruill. He doesn't have a reputation for being analytically inclined, which unfortunately means that he might represent more of the same for the Mariners.
Seattle seems to be in the preliminary stages of evaluating potential replacements for Zduriencik, and with the season ending soon, definitive action will need to be made quickly.