Mariners Announce Four Coaching Staff Departures After Dan Wilson’s Exit

Wow. We knew the Mariners needed to make big changes after their 2026 collapse. But this one takes the cake. One day after Dan Wilson’s tenure ended, the Mariners announced that bench coach Manny Acta, infield coach Perry Hill, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and first-base coach Eric Young Jr. will not return in 2027.

The scale of that move is genuinely stunning. This goes far beyond ordinary offseason cleanup. Seattle just removed four prominent voices from its dugout before hiring the person who will occupy the manager’s office. These are not anonymous staffers whose names most fans learned today.

Acta spent 11 seasons on the Mariners’ major-league staff, working under Scott Servais and Wilson. Hill spent eight seasons in Seattle and helped J.P. Crawford, Evan White and Dylan Moore win Gold Gloves. Those two represented years of institutional memory inside the clubhouse.

Seitzer and Young were newer arrivals, each spending two seasons on the major-league staff. Their departures stretch this overhaul from the batter’s box to the basepaths and across the infield.

President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto and General Manager Justin Hollander announced today the following coaching staff changes.

Read more: https://t.co/dOL70I1chg pic.twitter.com/JLFY5e9S4i
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 28, 2026

Mariners Preserve Pitching Core While Four More Coaches Head Out

Jerry Dipoto said the Mariners determined that “significant changes are required as we look toward 2027 and beyond.”

Yeah…no kidding. The M’s finished 76-86 after entering the season with World Series expectations. The offense underachieved, the rotation became unreliable, the bullpen spiraled out of control and the defense rated as baseball’s worst by most advanced measurements. Accountability became a recurring subject once the season was already dead. The entire operation looked broken by the end of it.

Somebody was going to pay for that failure. But we didn’t expect for it to actually be a few somebodies.

Hill’s departure might be the most jarring. He built a reputation as one of baseball’s most respected infield instructors, and Seattle has the hardware to support it. But defensively, the 2026 season was a complete nightmare.

Hill didn’t suddenly forget how to coach an infield. Roster construction and player execution belong in this conversation, too. The Mariners still decided a fresh voice was more valuable than eight years of continuity. That tells us how aggressively they intend to remake the dugout.

Acta’s exit carries similar weight. He was one of the last major links connecting several versions of the Dipoto-era Mariners. Keeping the same bench coach would have made it harder for a new manager to establish a genuinely different atmosphere. It makes sense why that cord was cut.

The easiest departure to see coming was probably Seitzer’s. Assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes was already dismissed in July. When the lineup failed to recover, carrying Seitzer into another managerial tenure would have required a difficult sales pitch.

Mariners’ Next Manager Must Control What Comes Next

The Mariners are reportedly retaining director of pitching strategy Trent Blank and pitching coach Pete Woodworth, who are both under contract for two more seasons. Preserving that pitching infrastructure is fair. It has been the organization’s strongest foundation for years.

The remaining vacancies should stay open until Seattle hires its next manager. That manager cannot be expected to establish new standards while inheriting a coaching staff assembled entirely by the front office. If the Mariners want a different clubhouse voice, they need to let that voice choose some of the people who will deliver the message every day.

Seattle has created real room for a manager to build something. Let that person identify the coaches who fit his approach and bring in people he trusts. Let him push back when the front office hands down another bright idea from upstairs.

Dipoto promised significant change, and he has delivered plenty of volume. A manager and four coaches are now headed out the door. The hope is that coherence comes next.

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