ARLINGTON -- Looking to salvage their scuffling offense for this final stretch run, and perhaps simply to shake things up, the Mariners on Thursday parted ways with assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes.
Ed Paparella, a hitting coordinator who’s primarily worked in the Minors side, is joining the big league coaching staff for the rest of the season.
The club made the announcement during an off-day leading into a huge showdown with the Rangers, whom the Mariners are now trailing for first place in the American League West.
“Bobby always brought incredible energy and positivity, and he's going to be missed, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Friday’s four-game series opener at Globe Life Field. “And in this game, sometimes you go through tough times and you lose people, you lose members of the family, and it's always difficult.”
Magallanes, 56, was in his second season in Seattle, hired in tandem with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer during the 2024-25 offseason after they’d spent four seasons working alongside each other for the Braves.
Seitzer, who reports to director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez, will remain on Wilson’s staff.
The move came one day after the Mariners (51-52) dropped their second straight game against the Reds, who sit in last place in the National League Central, which capped a 3-3 homestand coming out of the All-Star break.
They’ve tumbled to a half-game back of Texas for first place in what’s been the sport’s most pedestrian division, and are now two games behind surging Boston for the final AL Wild Card spot, as the first team on the outside looking in.
There’s been plenty of culpability for the club’s team-wide struggles, but the offensive shortcomings have become far more glaring of late.
The dropoff from a strong 2025 has been despite a lineup stacked with talent, including Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena, among others. Granted, Raleigh was sidelined for a month and Rodríguez missed two weeks recently with a concussion. They’ve also been without prized offseason acquisition Brendan Donovan for over two months.
“We've been talking a lot about the offense over the last several weeks and months, and this decision, I think, again, it's always difficult,” Wilson said. “I can't thank Bobby enough for what he has done and what he brought. At the same time, we've got stuff in front of us, and that's where we need to focus.”
Magallanes had specialized on the mechanical side of coaching, while Seitzer has focused more on approach. However, they both had played off and blended with each other. Martinez is in the more overarching role, and had a big impact on hiring each, along with president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto. Philosophically, this staff has been more old-school in nature compared to its predecessors, which had largely been well received by players.
This was Magallanes' sixth season on a big league coaching staff, along with the four in Atlanta (2021-24), and his 24th as a pro coach, having spent much time in the Minors.
Thursday's move marks the second time in less than two years that the Mariners have made a significant, in-season coaching change. They parted ways with hitting coach Jarret DeHart on Aug. 22, 2024, when also relieving former manager Scott Servais of his duties.
Paparella, 31, has been in the organization since 2021, when he signed a Minors contract as a player but quickly transitioned into a coaching role. His roving role has primarily sent him on site to the club’s Minor League affiliates across the country. Beyond player development, he’s also worked with the club’s high-performance and analytics departments.
“Pap has, number one, worked with a lot of these guys that we have on our club and knows them very well,” Wilson said. “I think he has a great handle on technology and the things that are out there to help us all get better. And so that's what he's going to continue to bring -- and I think just a different perspective and different eyes.”
Paparella played in college as an outfielder at the University of South Alabama from 2016-19 -- where he was teammates with Donovan.