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Yankees, Astros, Mariners Have Spoken To Cubs About Cody Bellinger

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Cody Bellinger has stood as one of the most recognizable but difficult-to-move names on the offseason trade market. Among the teams to reach out recently are the Yankees, Astros and Mariners, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. However, Levine adds that the Cubs aren’t looking to merely shed Bellinger’s salary, nor do they want to cover much (if any) money in a deal. That’s likely to be an issue. ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote this morning that other teams feel the Cubs will need to pay down a notable portion of Bellinger’s salary (or, presumably, take back another contract) if they intend to get much in the way of a return.

The Cubs have been looking to upgrade various spots on the roster but have a tough road to do so, in part due to no-trade clauses for Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. Other positions, like first base (Michael Busch) and center field (Pete Crow-Armstrong) are already manned by promising young players. Third baseman Isaac Paredes was only just acquired at the deadline. Second baseman Nico Hoerner makes some sense as an option to free up some cash and a spot in the lineup for a more impactful bat, but he’s coming off flexor surgery.

That’s led the Cubs to at least gauge interest in Bellinger, who passed on the opportunity to opt out of the remaining two years and $52.5MM on his contract at the beginning of the offseason. Bellinger had a fine year overall, hitting .266/.325/.426 with 18 homers and a tiny 15.6% strikeout rate (his second straight season with that exact strikeout rate). But while those numbers were solid, they pale in comparison to his 2023 showing. He also posted lesser defensive grades both in the outfield and at first bae in 2024.

[Related: Looking for a Match in a Cody Bellinger Trade]

The Yankees have been laying some groundwork in the event that Juan Soto ultimately signs elsewhere, showing recent interest in top-tier free agents like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Willy Adames. That said, there’d pretty clearly be room for both Bellinger and Soto on the same roster. Bellinger could slot in at first base in the Bronx, offering another left-handed bat with good contact skills — a contrast to some of the strikeout-prone righties elsewhere in the lineup. He’d also be good insurance in the outfield, given the injury histories of both Aaron Judge and top prospect Jasson Dominguez. Bellinger could also serve as a safety net in the event that Dominguez looks overmatched early on.

In Houston, the Astros have a clear need at first base after their three-year, $58.5MM deal with Jose Abreu went sideways almost immediately. After a poor first year in 2023, Abreu started the 2024 season so poorly that he consented to being optioned to the minors. That Triple-A stint didn’t help, and Abreu was released less than halfway through that three-year deal. The ’Stros subsequently gave most of the playing time at first base to Jon Singleton, who provided light offense and subpar defense the rest of the way.

For the Mariners, first base has emerged as a clear need. They have at least one intriguing in-house option in prospect Tyler Locklear, but the M’s have been linked heavily to veterans Carlos Santana and Justin Turner as they search for a veteran bat at first base (and likely another at the hot corner). Bellinger’s contact skills would help Seattle cut down on the team’s longstanding strikeout issues as well.

The bigger issue with regard to Bellinger isn’t so much his overall ability, but rather the magnitude of his contract. He’s owed $52.5MM over the next two season — a guarantee that’s paid out in heavily frontloaded fashion. He’s taking home a $27.5MM salary in 2025 and is owed a $5MM buyout on a $25MM player option for the 2026 season if he opts out of the contract’s final season next winter. For an acquiring team, Bellinger would add $26.25MM to the luxury tax ledger and would cost at least $32.5MM in terms of actual, present-day salary.

For the 2023 version of Bellinger — .307/.356/.525 (136 wRC+), 26 home runs — teams would happily pay that price. Of course, if Bellinger had produced at that same level in 2024, he’d surely have taken the first opt-out opportunity in his contract at the beginning of this offseason. That he chose to forgo his opt-out clause is indicative of the fact that he and agent Scott Boras don’t believe there’s a sizable nine-figure contract waiting for him.

With regard to the Yankees, that luxury number could be problematic. Whether they sign Soto or pursue multiple free agents from the Fried/Burnes/Adames bucket after missing out on him, they’ll surely be a luxury tax payor in at least the third tier of penalty — if not the fourth. Since they’re looking at paying the tax in three straight seasons, that means they’ll either be staring down a 95% tax or 110% tax rate. Bellinger would cost them somewhere between $52-56MM in combined salary and taxes — plus that potential $5MM buyout on the 2026 option. Even for a deep-pocketed club like the Yankees, that’s a staggering price to pay, particularly coming off a good-not-great season for Bellinger.

The Astros, too, have some luxury concerns. RosterResource estimates that they’re just about $7MM shy of the first-tier threshold. They’ve looked into trading Ryan Pressly, but even if Houston were able to unload his full $14MM salary, Bellinger would still thrust them back into luxury territory. The 2024 season was the first in which owner Jim Crane authorized paying the tax. Adding Bellinger would very likely require doing so a second time. Speculatively speaking, a swap of Pressly and Bellinger could make sense for both parties involved, though Pressly can veto any potential deal as a player with 10-and-5 rights.

Luxury considerations don’t apply to the Mariners, but the actual bottom-line cash owed to Bellinger will be an obstacle. Seattle is looking to add two infielders — one at each corner — and ownership doesn’t seem to have an appetite for raising payroll too far beyond last year’s roughly $145MM level. The Mariners already project for a number in a similar range. If they could find a taker for one Mitch Haniger or Mitch Garver, perhaps Bellinger would become more realistic. For now, it seems likely that ever-active president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is simply doing due diligence, perhaps hoping the Cubs will pay down some of the contract (if not take someone like Garver back as part of the return).

Mariners Have Had Trade Talks Involving Alec Bohm, Nico Hoerner

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The Mariners are known to be looking for infield upgrades this offseason and have been exploring the trade market as part of that pursuit. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports that the club has had some trade discussions with the Phillies about Alec Bohm and with the Cubs about Nico Hoerner.

The Seattle infield is likely to be significantly different in 2025 than it was in 2024. Ty France was traded to the Reds last year. Justin Turner became a free agent at season’s end. The Mariners also turned down a club option on Jorge Polanco and non-tendered Josh Rojas. That leaves them J.P. Crawford at short at question marks elsewhere. Recent reporting has suggested they may be comfortable with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss covering second base until prospect Cole Young is ready, but even in that case, the corners would need to be addressed. Luke Raley is an option at first base but he could also be in the corner outfield mix and would likely need to be platooned anyway, since the lefty swinger is far better against righties.

Despite the need, the M’s were never likely to be huge players in free agency. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Seattle has never given a free agent position player more than the $24MM they gave to Mitch Garver in the era with Jerry Dipoto leading the front office. Furthermore, while the club is planning for a payroll bump relative to last year, it’s expected to be fairly modest. RosterResource projects the club to already have a fairly similar spending outlay next year as they did in 2024, so it doesn’t appear a major splash on someone like Alex Bregman or Willy Adames is likely.

All those factors, as well as Dipoto’s “Trader Jerry” reputation for being aggressive on the trade market, have pointed that to being the likely path forward. As such, the talks about Bohm and Hoerner are fairly logical developments, though a trade actually coming together may not be likely with either.

The Phillies are looking to shake up their roster and Bohm is one of the logical trade candidates they have. Many of their position players are veterans who are fairly cemented in place, either due to their key contributions, their contracts or both. Bohm, on the other hand, is a solid but not elite player who is controlled via the arbitration system through 2026.

Bohm is coming off a 2024 season in which he hit .280/.332/.448 for a wRC+ of 115, his best offensive performance in a full season thus far in his career. However, he did so in lopsided fashion, hitting .295/.348/.482 in the first half for a 128 wRC+ and .251/.299/.382 in the second half for a 90 wRC+. He’s also been a bit better against lefties in his career, which continued in 2024. He hit .287/.335/.473 with the platoon advantage for a 123 wRC+ while slashing .276/.330/.437 against righties for a 111 wRC+.

Defensively, Bohm has been a bit of a mixed bag. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have both considered him to be subpar at third base in his career but closer to league average this year. He can also play some first base as well, meaning he provides a bit of versatility.

Bohm is undoubtedly a useful player and would surely appeal to the Mariners, given their desire to reduce their strikeout problems. His 17.9% career strikeout rate is a few ticks below average and he’s been ever lower than that in the past three seasons, getting to 14.2% in 2024.

Still, despite Bohm’s utility, it seems the Phils are setting a high asking price for his services. Per Jude’s report, the Phillies asked for either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby in return, which is surely why a deal hasn’t happened yet. Back in September, Dipoto said that dealing from the rotation was “Plan Z” for this winter. And even if Seattle was trying to move a starter, Bohm for Gilbert or Kirby wouldn’t be a good alignment in terms of trade value.

Bohm has two remaining years of arbitration control left and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of $8.1MM. Gilbert is projected for the same salary in 2025 but can be controlled for three more seasons compared to Bohm’s two. Gilbert has also been the far more valuable player in his career, having tossed 704 1/3 innings with a 3.60 earned run average. FanGraphs considers him to have been worth 12.4 wins above replacement over his four big league seasons while putting Bohm at 7.7 fWAR in his five campaigns. Kirby has four seasons of club control remaining and is projected for a modest $5.5MM salary next year. He’s also racked up 11.4 fWAR already in just three seasons by tossing over 500 innings with a 3.43 ERA.

Perhaps Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was just staking out an extreme position for the start of discussions and will bridge the gap later in the offseason, but if that’s any indication of how the Phillies genuinely view Bohm’s value, it may be tough to line up on a deal. MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at some of the other potential landing spots for Bohm yesterday.

For the Cubs, Hoerner also makes sense as a trade candidate for a few reasons. That club has a crowded position player mix but there are difficulties in trading many of them. Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ have full no-trade clauses. Cody Bellinger’s opt-out makes it difficult to line up with another club, given the potential downside for the acquiring team. Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong just took steps forward in 2024 and are still affordable and controllable. Isaac Paredes was just acquired from the Rays a few months ago and his trade value likely dropped a bit since he struggled after that swap.

Hoerner, on the other hand, might be more useful to another club. He came up as a shortstop but has been moved to second base in deference to Swanson. The defensive metrics have liked his work at the keystone but some other team might consider him a viable shortstop if given the chance. Offensively, he’s been just a bit above average in his career, hitting .278/.338/.381 for a 102 wRC+. He’s also stolen at least 20 bases in each of the past three years. He will make $11.5MM in 2025 and $12MM in 2026 as part of the extension he signed last year.

Going into the winter, there was an argument for the Cubs to trade Hoerner for pitching, thus opening up second base for a prospect such as Matt Shaw or James Triantos. However, Hoerner underwent flexor tendon surgery in October, which complicates the possibility of a trade coming together somewhat. His recovery timeline is still uncertain, which will make it hard for the Cubs and another club to line up on a valuation.

His primary position being second base is also imperfect, given that the M’s appear to prefer to add at the corners. Hoerner does have some third base experience but just 41 1/3 innings in the majors. He does have a contact-based approach, with a career strikeout rate of just 12%, which would line up well with Seattle’s plans to improve in that department.

Per Jude, the Cubs are seeking “proven major league talent”, but the Mariners seem to be more interested in dealing from their farm system. Jude notes that the club has eight prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 list (Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes, Young, Jonny Farmelo, Harry Ford, Logan Evans, Michael Arroyo, Felnin Celesten) and could use that stockpile of talent to upgrade the major league roster. Given the club’s aforementioned budgetary constraints, penchant for swinging deals and stated desire to keep their big league rotation intact, trading from that group seems more likely than giving up someone like Gilbert or Kirby.

Though they won’t be huge players in free agency, Jude adds that the club remains in contact with Turner and old friend Carlos Santana, which is a connection that has been made in previous reports. Turner is now 40 and Santana will be 39 in April, so both will be limited to one-year deals with fairly modest salaries.

Mariners Looking At Corner Infield Upgrades More Than Second Base

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The Mariners are known to be looking for upgrades at multiple infield positions this offseason, with shortstop J.P. Crawford standing as their only locked-in starter. The M’s have strong interest in bringing back either Justin Turner or Carlos Santana for a second go with the organization at first base, and they’ve reportedly been exploring their options at both second base and third base. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic now writes that Seattle’s focus is more on third base options than at second base. The M’s currently have in-house options like Ryan Bliss, Dylan Moore and top prospect Cole Young at second base.

As it stands, Moore and recent DFA acquisition Austin Shenton are the most prominent options at third base. Moore and fellow infielder Leo Rivas profile better as utility options, with Moore in particular representing a potential short-side platoon option if the M’s add a left-handed bat.

Payroll stands as an obvious obstacle for the Mariners once again. Seattle ownership anticipates an increase in 2025, but likely not by a notable amount. Following the team’s non-tenders of Josh Rojas, Austin Voth, Sam Haggerty and JT Chargois, Adam Jude of the Seattle Times suggested the M’s could have somewhere in the vicinity of $16MM with which to work. There’s surely some wiggle room there, but it’s unlikely the Mariners are going to cannonball into the free agent pool with a splash for, say, Alex Bregman or Willy Adames. Even if the funds for such a move were there, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto prefers to operate primarily on the trade market. In nine years with the Mariners, he’s only given a multi-year deal to one position-player free agent (Mitch Garver at two years and $24MM).

Trade options aren’t exactly plentiful, but there are some names known to be on the block. The Phillies have been shopping Alec Bohm around as they look to change up their offense. Bohm isn’t an elite bat and has a mixed-bag of defensive results at the hot corner, but he’s available and affordable enough, with a projected $8.1MM salary (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). Elsewhere in the NL East, former Mets top prospect Brett Baty stands a change of scenery candidate following the emergence of Mark Vientos. Even if the Mets allow Pete Alonso to walk in free agency and move Vientos across the diamond, they could look to bring in a higher-profile third baseman.

Nolan Arenado is also widely known to be available, but he’s owed $32MM next season (plus $27MM in 2026 and $15MM in 2027). The Rockies are paying $5MM of that in each of the next two seasons under the terms of the trade that sent Arenado from Denver to St. Louis, but that’s still a big contract for a team that ostensibly has limited budget space. Speculatively speaking, the Mariners and Twins could line up on a deal for a second straight winter. Minnesota has a crowded infield mix and could consider moving Jose Miranda with both Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis as options to flank shortstop Carlos Correa. Then again, Miranda could just move across the diamond to first base, so it’s not as though he’s lacking a clear opportunity in Minneapolis. The Marlins would probably listen on Jake Burger, but he’s the type of low-OBP, strikeout-prone slugger from whom the Mariners have been trying to move away in recent seasons.

The Mariners’ options on the trade market would surely open up if they were willing to deal from their rotation. However, at season’s end, Dipoto not only indicated that moving a controllable starter wasn’t Plan A or B for the Mariners — he likened the notion to “Plan Z” (link via MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer).

Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander have both spoken openly about their fondness for the Mariners’ excellent young rotation and both expressed reluctance to move on from the group. Still, if Seattle were to make any of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo available, they’d perhaps be in position to seek similarly appealing young hitters (e.g. Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg or Coby Mayo).

One point worth considering is that the Mariners’ depth beyond the current rotation isn’t as deep as some might think. Former No. 6 overall pick Emerson Hancock’s stock is down considerably, and he’s viewed largely as a back-end starter. Righty Taylor Dollard has only pitched 8 1/3 innings over the past two seasons. Logan Evans, a 12th-rounder in 2023, significantly boosted his stock with a big 2024 but still hasn’t pitched above Double-A. It’s a similar story with 2021 third-rounder Michael Morales. The Mariners already know they’re not likely to be as fortunate with pitcher health as they were in 2024, and trading one of the current arms only further creates the potential to overexpose some of those inexperienced arms in the event of an injury in the big league rotation.

Mariners Promote Joel Firman To Assistant General Manager

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The Mariners announced a handful of front office promotions on Monday evening. Assistant general manager Andy McKay was given a vice president title alongside his AGM tag. Seattle also bumped Joel Firman to assistant general manager. Scott Hunter was promoted to VP of amateur scouting, while David Hesslink received a bump to VP of baseball product development.

McKay and Firman now jointly hold AGM titles. That ostensibly slots them third and fourth in baseball operations behind president of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander. McKay has spent a decade in the Seattle organization. Initially hired as player development director, he briefly worked on Scott Servais’ coaching staff before getting the AGM title during the 2022-23 offseason.

Firman has been with Seattle for 11 seasons. Formerly an intern with the Yankees, the Washington native has worked his way up the M’s analytics department. According to the team’s press release, he’ll be in charge of overseeing the M’s advance scouting work (game planning for opposing teams) while continuing to assume a key role in the team’s research and development.

Quick Hits: Snell, Orioles, Brash, Cubs

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The Orioles had “legitimate interest” in southpaw Blake Snell before he landed with the Dodgers on a five-year deal that became official earlier today, per a report from Roch Kubatko of MASN. Kubatko notes, however, that it’s unclear how advanced talks between Baltimore and Snell’s camp became before he settled on Los Angeles. Previous reporting indicated that the Orioles could get involved in the Snell sweepstakes, but Kubatko’s report is the first confirming Baltimore’s interest.

As the club looks to either reunite with right-hander Corbin Burnes or replace his production at the top of their rotation following his departure for free agency earlier this month, it’s hardly a surprise to hear that the club took a hard look at Snell while he was available. The two-time Cy Young award winner has been even better than Burnes from a run prevention perspective over the past three years, with a 2.82 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 412 innings. Burnes, meanwhile, lags behind in rate stats with a 3.08 ERA and 3.49 FIP, but his 590 innings of work dwarf Snell in terms of volume. That volume figures to be particularly attractive to an Orioles club that has serious health question marks surrounding a number of its starters, including Kyle Bradish as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery that figures to keep him out of action for at least the first half of 2025.

While Burnes seems likely to remain the Orioles’s top choice in free agency this winter, they’ve also been connected to southpaws Max Fried and Garrett Crochet in free agency and via trade respectively. It seems as though they’re also looking at mid-rotation arms as well, however, as they were recently linked to veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi projects to be much less expensive than Burnes and Fried in free agency this winter, but that affordability comes with a much less impactful track record as the 34-year-old has a solid but unremarkable 3.75 ERA and 3.63 FIP across the past five seasons. The Orioles are quite familiar with Eovaldi, of course, as he spent seven seasons in the AL East with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox from 2015 to 2022.

More tidbits from around the baseball world…

  • Mariners fans got an encouraging update on the status of right-hander Matt Brash recently, as Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported earlier this week that the right-hander is ahead of schedule as he rehabs from his early May Tommy John surgery. Per Jude, the Mariners are “optimistic” that he could return to the club’s bullpen by the end of April this coming season, just under a year after he first went under the knife. Brash’s return would surely be a major boost for Seattle, as he established himself as one of the most exciting young arms in the club’s arsenal during a breakout 2023 campaign. After being moved to the bullpen partway through the 2022 season, Brash’s first full campaign as a reliever saw him lead the majors with 78 appearances while posting an excellent 3.06 ERA with an even better 2.26 FIP. He struck out an eye-popping 34.7% of batters faced that year, and if he can post numbers anything like that in 2025 he’ll be a phenomenal complement to closer Andres Munoz at the back of the Mariners bullpen next year.
  • The Cubs have yet to announce their finalized coaching staff for the 2025 season, but Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported earlier this week that at least one more vacancy has been filled. After assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos departed the organization to become the Marlins’ pitching coach, the club is promoting internally to replace Moskos by hiring Casey Jacobson. Jacobson has been in the Cubs organization since October 2019 and has spent the past two years as the senior coordinator of pitching development for the club in the minor leagues. Now, he’ll get the opportunity to work on a big league coaching staff for the first time in his career with a number of young arms such as Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and Porter Hodge expected to play roles for Chicago next year.

Casey Sadler Announces Retirement

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Right-hander Casey Sadler announced his retirement from baseball today on X. In his statement, he thanks many people, including baseball fans, young players, his parents, his coaches and his agent.

Sadler, now 34, was selected by the Pirates in the 25th round of the 2010 draft out of Western Oklahoma State College. He worked his way up the minor league ladder, mostly as a starter, getting some brief big league looks in 2014 and 2015. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in October of 2015 and had to miss the entire 2016 season. In 2017 and 2018, he was back on the hill and pitching in relief a bit more but mostly in the minors, only getting into two big league games in 2018.

He was no longer on Pittsburgh’s roster at the end of 2018 and was able to become a free agent. He ended up having a bit of a breakout in 2019, split between the Rays and Dodgers. He signed a minor league deal with Tampa for that year and eventually tossed 19 1/3 innings for them, with a 1.86 earned run average. He was designated for assignment and flipped to the Dodgers in July, then posting a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings for his new club after the swap. He finished the year with a combined 46 1/3 innings with a 2.14 ERA. His 16% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 6.7% clip and got grounders on 51.8% of balls in play.

In 2020, he wasn’t able to build off that performance in the pandemic-shortened season. He was flipped to the Cubs and later to the Mariners, finishing the year with a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate jumped to 24.4% but he also gave free passes to 14% of opponents.

But an even better breakout than 2019 followed in 2021. He tossed 40 1/3 innings for the Mariners that year with a miniscule ERA of 0.67. He had a 25.5% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 62.9% ground ball rate. He moved up the bullpen pecking order, eventually earning 15 holds that year.

Unfortunately, he was never able to build on that incredible campaign. He and the M’s avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.025MM salary for 2022 but Sadler required season-ending surgery in March, before the campaign even began. He spent the entire season on the injured list and was outrighted off the roster in November. He re-signed with the Mariners on a minor league deal for 2023 but spent much of that year on the minor league injured list and struggled when on the mound.

Per Sadler’s retirement announcement, he recently thought he would require another Tommy John surgery but then found out the problem was mental. His wife had started a pitching lesson business, which she asked him to get involved in. Sadler says that working with the younger pitchers gave him a renewed sense of purpose and improved his mental health, but also reduced his own desire to play.

Injuries prevented him from being on the big stage for long, but he performed exceptionally well when under the lights. Sadler retires with 101 major league games under his belt and a 2.86 ERA in that time. He struck out 104 opponents, recording one save, 22 holds and six wins. We at MLBTR congratulate him on a fine career and wish him the best in all his future endeavors.

MLBTR Podcast: Yusei Kikuchi, The Aggressive Angels, And The Singer/India Trade

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • For the Juan Soto sweepstakes, will agent Scott Boras just ask each club for its best offer? Or tell each club what others are offering to try to spur a bidding war? (20:45)
  • The Athletics are reportedly trying to have a $100MM payroll in 2025. Please come up with a plan to help them spend that money. (25:05)
  • It seems that third base is going to shape the destiny of the 2025 Mariners. How soon will they get over themselves and sign Alex Bregman or another top free agent? (29:40)
  • What do you think of the Nationals’ decision to non-tender Kyle Finnegan? (34:15)
  • What do you make of the recent reports that the Tigers and Tarik Skubal discussed an extension but didn’t get close? (38:20)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Mariners Promote Eric Young Jr., Louis Boyd To Major League Coaching Staff

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The Mariners announced their full 2025 coaching staff today. Most of the names are either holdovers from 2024 or were previously reported, though there were a couple of new names. Eric Young Jr. has been promoted to first base coach with Louis Boyd promoted to major league field coordinator.

Those two additions are part of a larger shuffle. Kristopher Negrón was the first base coach, but he will move over to third base coach. Last year’s third base coach Manny Acta will transition to bench coach. Brant Brown was the bench coach and offensive coordinator going into 2024 but he was fired back in May. Director of hitting strategy Jarret DeHart and assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph expanded their roles to compensate for Brown’s departure, though DeHart was fired in August and Joseph recently hired away by the Orioles. Boyd is taking the role that Carson Vitale had last year, though it was reported this week that the Marlins are hiring him away. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times (X link) relayed the shuffling prior to the official announcement.

Young was with the M’s last year, working in the system as baserunning coordinator. He will continue working on baserunning but now gets promoted to the first base coach position in the big leagues, though it’s not his first time in that job at the MLB level. He was the Nationals’ first base coach for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Prior to coaching, he played in the majors from 2009 to 2018.

Boyd gets a major league coaching job for the first time. He has been in the Mariners’ organization for the past six seasons, working in the minors. Most recently, he was the minor league field coordinator for the past two seasons.

Acta has been on Seattle’s staff for many years, but has shifted around to various roles. He was third base coach in 2016 and 2017, then became the bench coach for a couple of years. He went back to the third base job from 2020 to 2024 but now returns back to the bench coach gig once again. He has worked as a coach or manager in the majors since 2006, working for the Expos, Mets, Nationals and Cleveland prior to coming to Seattle.

Negrón played in the majors from 2012 to 2019 before transitioning into coaching. The M’s hired him as the assistant to the director of player development in 2020 and he served as manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021. He then got promoted to first base coach at the big league level for the 2022 season.

Marlins To Hire Carson Vitale As Bench Coach

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The Marlins are set to hire Carson Vitale away from the Mariners to serve as new manager Clayton McCullough’s bench coach, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Vitale has spent the past seven seasons with Seattle, including five as their major league field coordinator.

Vitale, 36, was Seattle’s minor league field coordinator before joining the big league staff in 2020. Prior to that, he was the Dodgers’ international field coordinator for two seasons (2016-17) and spent several years as a hitting coach and manager in the Angels’ minor league system. The Victoria, British Columbia native was drafted in the 38th round as a catcher out of Creighton University by the Rangers back in 2010 and played parts of two minor league seasons before setting a course down a coaching path.

Miami still has a ways to go in terms of filling out its coaching staff. The Marlins gutted their entire coaching staff after Skip Schumaker’s departure as manager, and McCullough’s hiring has only been official for two weeks. Miami has also reportedly hired former Giants assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero to serve as their new hitting coach, but he and Vitale are the only known hires to date. Both coaches have ties to Marlins assistant GM Gabe Kapler; Vitale worked with both Kapler and McCullough in Los Angeles, while Guerrero was on Kapler’s coaching staff in San Francisco and in Philadelphia when he managed the Giants and Phillies.

Mariners To Hire Kevin Seitzer As Hitting Coach

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The Mariners plan to hire Kevin Seitzer as hitting coach, reports Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Edgar Martinez, who finished last season in that capacity, will remain with the M’s in an overarching role. Kramer writes that Seitzer will report to Martinez, so it seems the franchise icon is still the team’s lead hitting voice. Martinez is not expected to regularly travel with the team on road trips, though he’ll be involved at Spring Training and during the majority of the club’s home games. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times tweets that Martinez’s official title will be senior director of hitting strategy.

Additionally, Kramer reports that the M’s are hiring Bobby Magallanes as assistant hitting coach. The 55-year-old spent the last four seasons working under Seitzer as an assistant hitting coach with the Braves.

Seitzer brings two decades of hitting coach experience to Dan Wilson’s staff. He’d worked in that capacity with the Diamondbacks, Royals and Blue Jays before being hired by the Braves during the 2014-15 offseason. Seitzer spent 10 seasons as Atlanta’s hitting coach. The Braves have been contenders for most of that stretch.

The development of Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II into star players has obviously been an instrumental part of the Braves’ success. Seitzer was fortunate to work with a lot of talented hitters, but he certainly deserves some amount of credit for overseeing a lineup that trails only the Dodgers in scoring over the last five seasons.

Still, the 2024 campaign was a mixed bag. The Braves’ offense floundered for a few months after Acuña’s season-ending knee injury. They finished the year 15th in scoring with a .243/.309/.415 team batting line. They were in the top 10 in slugging but right in the middle in both batting average and on-base percentage. That was below expectation for a team with as much star power as the Braves possess. Atlanta fired Seitzer, Magallanes, and catching coach Sal Fasano shortly after being eliminated from the playoffs.

It’s the latest shakeup to Seattle’s hitting infrastructure. The Mariners have struggled for years to field even a league average offense, which would probably be sufficient to get to the postseason given the strength of their starting pitching. The M’s hired Brant Brown as offensive coordinator last offseason. They fired him two months into the season in an effort to spark the lineup. That didn’t work, and the M’s dismissed hitting coach Jarret DeHart along with skipper Scott Servais three months later. Assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph left the team at the end of the season to take the same position with the Orioles.

Martinez joined the staff when his longtime teammate Wilson signed on as manager. He had previously been reluctant to assume a full-time coaching position because of family considerations. It seems they’ve settled on an unconventional role that’ll allow Martinez to remain actively involved without spending much time away from Seattle.

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