Seattle Mariners expect Dipoto and Servais lead the ship well and straighten the compass.

Writen by George Jimenez-Maria. 

Santo Domingo, DR.- Trying to change the bad luck that for years have swept the Seattle Mariners hope to reverse the long nightmare that oppresses to be 14 consecutive seasons without reaching the postseason (the longest streak in baseball) and to try to reverse that streak frustrations, have hired former catcher Scott Servais as manager for next MLB season.

George Jiménez-María

Servais joins a growing list of Major League managers with no prior experience. Brad Ausmus of the Tigers, Walt Weiss of the Rockies, Mike Matheny of the Cardinals, Craig Counsell of the Brewers and Robin Ventura of the White Sox had never been a manager or coach before being hired, while others like Bryan Price of the Reds, Paul Molitor of the Twins and recently dismissed Don Mattingly of the Dodgers and Bud Black of the Padres had only coaching experience on their resumes.

After bumping heads for 3 1/2 seasons with long-time manager Mike Scioscia in Anaheim, Dipoto said upon his hiring with Seattle last month that having a trusting relationship between GM and skipper was paramount, and he wound up opting for a long-time ally in Servais to become the 20th manager in Mariners history.

The Hisashi Iwakuma saga did a complete 360-degree twist late Thursday as the Mariners announced they've re-signed the 34-year-old right-hander to a one-year guaranteed deal with two more potential vesting years, after the Dodgers backed out of a three-year, $45 million agreement earlier in the day.

Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Iwakuma rejected Seattle's one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer in October and then agreed to a deal with the Dodgers on Dec. 6, but Jiji Press in Japan reported Thursday that the Dodgers never finalized that contract after Iwakuma failed a physical exam.

Dipoto moved quickly to acquire left-hander Wade Miley in a trade with the Red Sox the day after Iwakuma agreed to the Dodgers' deal and now has additional rotation depth. Seattle's rotation will now have Felix Hernandez, Miley, Taijuan Walker,Nathan Karns, James Paxton and Iwakuma battling for five spots, with Vidal Nunoavailable as a swingman and Mike Montgomery offering further depth.

Iwakuma posted a 9-5 record and 3.54 ERA in 20 starts last season. He missed 10 weeks with a strained lat muscle behind his right shoulder, but returned in early July and went 9-4 with a 3.10 ERA over his final 17 games, including a no-hitter against the Orioles on Aug. 12.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander has been a solid No. 2 starter behind Hernandez for the past four years, going 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA in 111 games.

Dipoto has been busy this offseason since replacing Jack Zduriencik, making nine trades, signing four new free agents and now bringing back two of the team's own free agents in outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and Iwakuma. The only unsigned free agent from last season's Mariners club is veteran left-handed reliever Joe Beimel.

George Jimenez is a lawyer, and besides an independent baseball writer from Dominican Republic.  Follow him on Twitter @george_jimenez4.