SEATTLE -- The Mariners announced more sweeping changes to their coaching staff on Monday morning, on the heels of Dan Wilson’s conclusion as manager.
Bench coach Manny Acta, infield coach Perry Hill, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and first-base coach Eric Young Jr. will not return in 2027.
Later on Monday afternoon, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto confirmed that no additional changes were coming.
The rest of the coaching staff from ‘26 is under contract for ‘27 -- and in a handful of cases, beyond -- Dipoto said, which includes:
- Trent Blank, director of pitching strategy
- Pete Woodworth, pitching coach
- Danny Farquhar, assistant pitching coach and pitching strategist
- Austin Nola, bullpen coach
- Ed Paparella, hitting coordinator
- Carlos Cardoza, third-base coach
- Jake McKinley, field coordinator
“I love the people who I spoke to yesterday and who've been here for a long time and made real contributions,” Dipoto said of the four departing coaches. “But we thought it was important that whoever we hire as the manager come in and have the ability to have his hand on the wheel in creating his own staff.”
Also, director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez will return to the organization but likely in a different role.
“In some capacity,” Dipoto said. “Edgar is part of what we do. He's been a Mariner for 44 years. I spoke to him the other day. I don't know that he's going to be in the dugout for 162 games. I am certain that he's going to be part of what we do from a baseball operation standpoint and organizationally.”
Acta, who just finished his 11th season in Seattle, was the longest-tenured member of the staff, arriving with former manager Scott Servais ahead of the 2016 season. That coaching staff was the first assembled under Dipoto, too. He transitioned to a bench coach role under Wilson (2025-26), which was his second such stint (2018-19), but was also their third-base coach for two stints as well (2016-17, 2020-24).
Hill spent eight seasons on the staff, initially serving as first-base and infield coach from 2019-21 before fully transitioning to infield coach from 2022-26. Regarded as one of the best in the profession in his generation, Hill helped three Mariners infielders win Gold Glove Awards during his tenure, including shortstop J.P. Crawford (2020), first baseman Evan White (2020) and utility player Dylan Moore (2024).
But the Mariners took a massive step back defensively in 2026, ranking last in MLB in Statcast’s outs above average (minus-57), fielding run value (minus-58) and near the bottom in many more metrics.
Young was also part of the defensive side, overseeing Seattle’s outfield, which previously fell under the purview of Kristopher Negrón, who took a higher role with the Pirates in ‘26 as their bench coach. Young just finished his second season on the staff as first-base coach and baserunning coordinator.
Seitzer was hired ahead of the 2025 season -- along with assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes -- after their successful stints in Atlanta. They reported to director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez, whose role moving forward hasn’t been revealed. Magallanes was let go in late July while the Mariners were floundering, though Dipoto suggested at the time that Seattle’s offensive shortcomings didn’t exclusively fall on the No. 3 in command.
Under Martinez, Seitzer and Magallanes, the Mariners enjoyed huge success during their first season in 2025. But as was the case with many aspects to Seattle’s roster in ‘26, the offense took a huge step back, ranking 27th in OPS (.693) and 28th in runs scored (664, or 4.09 per game).
And obviously, a managerial search is already underway. Whenever that person is hired, they will be instrumental in rounding out the rest of the 2027 coaching staff.
“That manager, whoever it is, will have the ability to point us in the direction of the people he wants, if we can access them,” Dipoto said.