SEATTLE -- Mel Stottlemyre Jr., the Mariners pitching coach under manager Scott Servais for the past three seasons, will not be back with the team next year, Servais said Monday.
Stottlemyre, 54, is the only member of the eight-man coaching staff not being asked to return in the wake of Seattle's 89-73 season in which its pitchers posted the 17th-best ERA out of the 30 Major League teams at 4.13.
"We're going a different direction there," Servais said. "Mel has been with me since I got the job, the last three years. I have a very close relationship with Mel. I just thought, with where we're at currently and where we want to go forward, we'd go with a different voice and different direction there."
The Mariners used a three-headed pitching coach model for the first time this past season. Brian DeLunas was hired as the bullpen coach and Jim Brower filled a new position as an assistant coach responsible strictly for helping the pitchers.
DeLunas has considerable background in analytics and Brower specializes in the biomechanics of pitching.
Stottlemyre, the son of long-time Yankees pitching standout and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Sr., brought more of the traditional pitching coach approach, having worked with the D-backs from 2007-15 as both their pitching coach for two years as well as Minor League pitching coordinator for five years and a bullpen coach for two seasons.
General manager Jerry Dipoto said both DeLunas and Brower would be considered for the pitching coach title "on some level," but indicated whoever takes over the top position doesn't need to be 100 percent about analytics.
"They'd need to be receptive to that, but the presence of Jim and Brian make it less ominous for us," Dipoto said. "We feel both those guys are very good at what they do and, by themselves, each is a good pitching coach.
"There's a reason why we set it up the way we did, but we feel very comfortable that those two being in place makes it not something we'll worry about going forward. We know we'll get the right guy and it'll be somebody that fits with our coaching staff, with our mix and with our belief systems."
Servais said he liked the three-pronged approach, though there could be some adjustment going forward.
"There's no blueprint right now," he said. "I will say all three guys brought a lot to the table. I think that was one of the main reasons we got as much out of our pitching this year as we did.
"I like the model. I think we can get even better in that regard in getting information to our players and working with the group upstairs in our analytical department in making sure we're all in sync and getting the most out of each and every one. The model has a lot of merit. I don't have a blueprint for what seats all the guys are going to be in yet, but I do like the model."