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Scott Servais, former Angels executive, will be Seattle Mariners’ next manager

Seattle Mariners center fielder Brad Miller watches fans reach for the home run ball of Oakland Athletics' Mark Canha in the third inning of a game on Oct. 4.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Brad Miller watches fans reach for the home run ball of Oakland Athletics’ Mark Canha in the third inning of a game on Oct. 4.

(Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
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Scott Servais, an Angels front-office executive who has no managerial experience in the minor leagues or big leagues, will be the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, according to a person familiar with the hiring but not authorized to speak publicly about it. An announcement is expected Friday.

Tim Bogar, who spent 2015 as a special assistant to the Angels general manager and was a finalist for the Seattle job, will serve as the Mariners bench coach, according to the source.

Both hires will be made by new Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto, who spent 3 1/2 years as the Angels GM before resigning amid renewed friction with Manager Mike Scioscia on July 1. Servais will replace Lloyd McClendon, who was fired as the Mariners’ manager after the season.

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Dipoto’s first hire after he got the Angels job in October 2011 was Servais, a former big-league catcher who was an assistant GM in charge of scouting and player development departments for four seasons in Anaheim.

Servais, 48, spent six seasons (2006-2011) as the Texas Rangers’ senior director of player development, overseeing the club’s minor league system and providing recommendations for potential trades and free-agent signings.

After retiring from a 14-year career in the big leagues in 2002, Servais spent two seasons with the Chicago Cubs as their roving catching instructor and one season as a professional scout with the Colorado Rockies, where Dipoto was serving as director of player personnel.

The northward migration of Dipoto and now Servais, who also butted heads with Scioscia at times, could add some spice to the American League West rivalry between the Angels and Mariners.

Scioscia and Servais clashed over some of the coaching and instruction techniques used to develop minor leaguers, and Scioscia did not allow Servais to dress out in full uniform and take part in on-field drills during spring training, something Servais did — and enjoyed — during his tenure with Texas.

Bogar, 49, managed the Angels’ double-A team at Arkansas in 2013 before moving to the Rangers to become their bench coach in 2014. He became Texas’ interim manager after Ron Washington resigned and guided the Rangers to a 14-8 record in September 2014.

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Bogar returned to the Angels in 2015. A former shortstop, he played nine years (1993-2001) in the big leagues.

Follow Mike DiGiovanna on Twitter @MikeDiGiovanna

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