The Seattle Mariners will look very different in the dugout in 2027. Monday morning, following the long-expected conclusion of Dan Wilson’s tenure as manager, Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander announced that the club will not retain longtime Bench Coach Manny Acta, Infield Coach Perry Hill, Hitting Coach Kevin Seitzer, or First Base Coach Eric Young Jr. for the 2027 season. The changes represent a wholesale overhaul of the club, and potentially offer prospective managers the chance to offer input
or cater their coaching staff to their philosophy. No moves were made thus far with the Pitching or Bullpen roles, suggesting Pete Woodworth, Trent Blank, Danny Farquhar, Austin Nola, Fleming Báez, and Justin Novak may be back. Additionally, following the midseason firing of Assistant Hitting Coach Bobby Magallanes, Seattle promoted Ed Paparella to serve as Hitting Coordinator. Paparella, along with Senior Director of Hitting Strategy Edgar Martinez, appear safe.
Acta’s departure is sizable, albeit difficult to calculate. The 57 year old Dominican was a minor leaguer with the Houston Astros before transitioning to a scouting and coaching role, including a player-coach role in the early 90’s. Acta was a manager for multiple rebuilding clubs, helming the still-nascent Washington Nationals and the struggling Cleveland Indians before taking the role of Third Base Coach for the Seattle Mariners on November 9, 2015. His 11 years in the organization as an active coach placed him as the longest-tenured member of Seattle’s coaching staff, and the only remaining uniformed individual to have lasted the entirety of Dipoto’s tenure.
Hill’s influence is famed throughout the organization, and the club has frequently lauded his contributions to their developmental efforts with several of their key prospects. J.P. Crawford and Dylan Moore both credited Hill for significant contributions to their Gold Glove Awards won during their time in Seattle. Tasked with drawing the best out of increasingly limited players, Seattle’s defense was the worst in the league this year, however few within the clubhouse or around the league seemed to see that as a coaching issue so much as the nature of the players assembled and their limitations.
Seitzer and Young Jr. both joined the Mariners more recently, with Seitzer taking over in the 2025 season to attempt to bring a more contact-oriented, all-fields approach to hitting that could be translated and heard by an offense that, while better than their rate stats in 2024, had disappointed and struck out at a club record 26.8% rate. The 2025 club was a strong offensive group, albeit heavily carried by the transcendent play of Cal Raleigh’s MVP-worthy season. Seattle’s 2026 club was inconsistent in their offense, and saw their power numbers crater without any benefit in average or other areas. Young Jr.‘s departure is the most surprising of the group. Popular with the players, his is a question of what can reasonably be expected with clay like this. Seattle was the slowest team in MLB, and few of its players could reasonably be swiping bases at any time. On the other hand, the M’s saw dismal base stealing numbers from several tweener players athletically, including Cole Young and J.P. Crawford, along with several key baserunning errors highlighted in a season so disappointing.
