Former Mariners player Kristopher Negrón joins Seattle front office

The Seattle Mariners announced on Tuesday that former Mariner utility man Kristopher Negrón is the organization’s new Assistant to Director of Player Development.

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Negrón, who played in the Seattle organization for parts of 2018 and 2019, will work with Mariners’ Director of Player Development Andy McKay, assisting in all aspects of player development, such as on-field instruction and teaching minor league players how to be great teammates, a Mariners news release said.

“I’ve had the unique perspective of watching Kris play in high school, competing against him in junior college, and then having him be part of the Mariner family the past few years,” said McKay. “During these 15 years, whether it was in high school or the Major Leagues, Kris has earned an unparalleled level of respect from his coaches, teammates, fans and members of the media.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Kris into player development where he will immediately begin to impact our people and our process both on and off the field. This is a great day for the Mariners.”

Negrón, 33, played in the MLB for parts of six years, including last season with the Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also played for Seattle and the Cincinnati Reds in the MLB, and spent time with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations in the minor leagues.

Negrón announced his retirement from baseball on Nov. 12 via Twitter.

👋🏽⚾️❤️ pic.twitter.com/h1J0mCLVXw

— Kristopher Negrón (@KNegs17) November 12, 2019

While with Seattle, Negrón batted .212 (11 for 52) with one home run, four RBIs and a .524 OPS over 28 games between 2018 and 2019. He began 2019 with Triple-A Tacoma, playing 82 games before being recalled to Seattle for 10 games in July. He was traded to the Dodgers on July 29 for minor league infielder Daniel Castro, where he finished the season.

Over the course of his career, Negrón batted .221 with 14 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 32 RBI and a .627 OPS, while also recording a lifetime .986 fielding percentage (five errors in 348 chances). He was a true utility player, having played every defensive position other than pitcher and catcher.

Negrón was born in New Jersey but graduated from high school in California. He stayed in California for college, attending Cosumnes River College. Negrón was named the California Community College Baseball Conference MVP in 2006 and was drafted in the seventh round (223rd overall) by the Boston Red Sox.

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