Now that their last-place campaign is in the books, the Mariners have decided to turn over a few of their coaching positions, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). Manager Scott Servais and the front office will be seeking to make three hires.
Pitching coach Paul Davis will vacate his job but remain in the organization in a different capacity. Two other 2019 staffers will be leaving the organization: third base/outfield coach Chris Prieto and bullpen coach Jim Brower.
Davis just wrapped up his first year as a big-league pitching coach after coming to the org with an analytics background. It seems the club still values his abilities but decided a new approach was needed in terms of the uniformed staff. Prieto had been with the team since 2017 while Brower had served under Servais for the past two campaigns.
Ray Searage?
I think a change to on field pitching coach was badly needed. Davis is very smart on analytics but real world application was missing. I would love to see Lance Painter get a shot if he’s interested.
They seem to love Painter focusing on development, though I wouldn’t have a problem with him being promoted.
Searage would be interesting. But is he open to the use of modern technology, or is he old school til death? If he’s let go and he ends up Seattle, you can bet Jerry will have had an in-depth discussion to make sure they’re on the same page.
That would make me a happy camper.
What would make me a happy camper is if they moved Servais around in the organization too. Great for analytics and front office but not a dugout manager/coach. He just makes way too many questionable calls.
Agree.
Who isn’t getting canned ?
If they are looking to make a step forward I think finding someone with prior experience would be great, specially with young players. Could definitely see Searage being a candidate would be great to unlock some of that talent.
Searge is going with maddon to angels count on it. Only thing angels need is more out of there pitching
The Angels would make a ton of sense for a manager or coach looking to get trapped in mediocrity.
Honey, the angels need a lot more than two coaches to turn things around lol. You need to actually sign worth while free agents. Or you’re looking at another 500 record and a middle of the road draft pick.
They are looking for both a pitching and bull pen coaches which could mean a chance of direction or perhaps, just different communication skills. Be interesting to see who they choose.
A last place campaign which is worse considering they had the best record in the majors three weeks into the season…
They had built that best record on wins against the Angels, Royals, and White Sox
The Mariners opened the season by going 5-1 against the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox.
Who cares about early season numbers.
Mariners kept giving time to their rookies. Their lineup was always different. Props to the Mariners for really focusing on prospect development. Hopefully it pans out for them.
Wow man, totally. Brad Miller and Dustin Ackley topping the 2014 Spring Training leaderboards was also a sure sign of their true talent. I just don’t know how it all went so wrong.
new ones making minimum wages?
And the playoff drought continues in Seattle…
Is Scott Servais a good manager?
I think he is. He’s what I would call a “formula manager”, in that most of the decisions seem to be numbers-based. But he’s learning when to trust the numbers and when to improvise (which isn’t often).
Then there’s the clubhouse.
He’s also earning a reputation for keeping a positive, family-like tone and environment. That’s important for a team that will consist of 90% youth in short-order, though he’s developing as a manager as well.
He’s good for the team right now. Whether or not he’s good for the team in 2022 remains to be seen, but I don’t think there’s much reason for doubt.
I would love to apply on either of the pitching roles!
What, exactly, does a bullpen coach do to impact a game’s outcome?
I would assume that they have make sure pitchers mechanics look good while warming up.