SEATTLE -- Former Mariners utility player Shawn O’Malley has been hired by the club as the new hitting coach at Class A Advanced Modesto, which was among a number of changes announced Tuesday to the franchise’s Minor League staff.

Tony Arnerich, who spent last season as an assistant hitting and catching coordinator, has been promoted to Minor League field coordinator, a role overseeing the entire farm system. He replaces Carson Vitale, who previously had been promoted to Major League field coordinator on manager Scott Servais’ big league staff.

Arnerich, 40, is entering his fourth year in the Mariners’ organization after seven seasons as an assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Tony Arnerich will do a fantastic job as our new field coordinator,” said Andy McKay, the Mariners' director of player development. “He is a well-rounded leader who has earned the respect of those in player development as well as our other baseball operations departments. He has been a steady voice of advocacy for our initiatives, and his relationship with Carson Vitale will be critical in creating seamless transitions for our players between our Major League and Minor League groups.”

O’Malley, who played for the Mariners from 2015-16, is one of six newcomers on the coaching staffs of the club’s seven Minor League affiliates. The 32-year-old from Richland, Wash., retired as a player after spending 83 games with the independent league Kansas City T-Bones in 2019, following a season with the Rockies’ Triple-A Albuquerque club in ’18.

O’Malley is one of two newcomers on Modesto manager Denny Hocking’s staff, along with first-year pitching coach Sean McGrath, who spent the past two seasons as pitching coach at Elon University in North Carolina. The Mariners drafted two of McGrath’s pitchers from Elon last June -- first-rounder George Kirby and eighth-rounder Ty Adcock.

Hocking, a 13-year Major League veteran, enters his fourth season in the Mariners’ system and his second as Modesto’s manager.

Veteran manager Daren Brown also returns for his second straight season leading the Triple-A Tacoma staff and his 23rd in Seattle’s organization. Roy Howell is back for his second year as the Rainiers’ hitting coach, while former Modesto pitching coach Rob Marcello has been promoted to that same position in Tacoma.

Dave Berg takes over as the manager at Double-A Arkansas after serving in the same role at Class A West Virginia last year. Pitching coach Alon Leichman also makes the jump from West Virginia, while hitting coach Joe Thurston is being promoted from Short-Season Class A Everett.

Eric Farris assumes Berg’s former post as manager at West Virginia, where he was the hitting coach last year. His staff will consist of new pitching coach Nathan Bannister and hitting coach Rob Benjamin. Bannister, 26, is making his coaching debut after pitching in the Mariners’ Minor League system in 2017-18. Bannister spent last year as the hitting coach for the Mariners’ Dominican Summer League team.

Louis Boyd returns as the manager at Everett, where he took over midseason last year after working as a player/coach for Modesto. He’ll be joined by second-year pitching coach Ari Ronick and new hitting coach Michael Fransoso, who played in the Pirates’ Minor League system the past three seasons.

On the Mariners’ Arizona Rookie League team, manager Zac Livingston returns for his fifth season and Yoel Monzon continues as pitching coach, with former Modesto hitting coach Jose Umbria taking over that same role with the AZL club.

Manager Austin Knight returns at the Mariners’ Dominican Academy, where his staff includes pitching coach Jose Amancio and new hitting coach Brett Schneider.

To support the Minor League coaching staffs, the Mariners also have an eight-person group of Minor League coordinators led by Arnerich. That group includes Mariners Hall of Famers Alvin Davis (starting his 10th season) and Dan Wilson (seventh season), as well as former MLB pitcher Pete Harnisch (fifth season) and former Mariners outfielder Mike Cameron (first full season) as special assistants.

Hugh Quattlebaum returns as Minor League hitting coordinator and Max Weiner remains the pitching coordinator, while Cesar Nicolas enters his second season as Latin American field coordinator.