Eppler, Brown Have Interviewed For Mariners’ GM Opening

The Mariners are one of five big league teams looking for a general manager, though their search isn’t as far along as a team like the Red Sox or Angels, each of whom saw their previous GMs step down earlier than the Mariners fired Jack Zduriencik. To this point, much of the talk surrounding the Seattle GM vacancy has been preliminary and/or speculative in nature. Former Halos GM Jerry Dipoto is expected to interview, and the Mariners also have permission to interview Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler. Former Marlins GM Dan Jennings and former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd have been linked to Seattle, though Jennings has a standing offer to return to his post with the Fish once the season ends and he’s done with his rather strange and brief tenure as the club’s on-field manager. The Mariners are said to be seeking an experienced candidate, although there is of course the possibility that a would-be rookie GM could impress in an interview.

Here’s the latest on the search for a GM in Seattle…

• The Mariners interviewed Eppler on Wednesday, reports George A. King III of the New York Post. The Mariners are the second team for which Eppler has interviewed, King notes, as he interviewed with the Angels in New York on Monday. Seattle has expanded its search to some degree, King adds, as they’re no longer set on a candidate that has prior experience. That would bode well for the likes of Eppler and Brown.

Earlier Updates

• Seattle had interest in Athletics’ assistant GM David Forst, but it appears that the club won’t have the opportunity to consider him as a candidate due to Forst’s pending promotion, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, via Twitter. It was previously reported that Oakland intends to move Forst to the GM seat, with Billy Beane stepping into a president’s role, though the precise changes and timeline remain unknown.
• Blue Jays special assistant Dana Brown will interview with the Mariners on Wednesday, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. A former scouting director for the Nationals, Brown drafted Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman and several others while overseeing the Nats’ scouting operation. (Stephen Strasburg was selected under his watch as well, although he was seen as a slam-dunk No. 1 overall pick.) As MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm wrote in a 2011 profile, Brown actually oversaw Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos when the two worked together in the Nats/Expos franchise, even going so far as to promote Anthopoulous to coordinator of scouting with the Nationals. He rejoined Anthopoulos in 2010.