Drayer: Mariners officially add 2 new coaches to Servais’ staff
Dec 7, 2023, 1:59 PM | Updated: 2:25 pm
Scott Servais of the Seattle Mariners looks on against the Minnesota Twins on July 20, 2023. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
In the past few years the slogan “DMGB” (doesn’t matter, get better) has been very present in the Seattle Mariners’ clubhouse, seen on walls and T-shirts and referenced often by manager Scott Servais. Turn off the noise and find a way.
While it remains to be seen what bats are brought in to help the team get “meaningfully better,” the goal stated by Jerry Dipoto earlier this week in Nashville, one piece of the puzzle to getting better has become clear with the official announcement of hirings on the coaching side.
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Wednesday afternoon, the team announced Brant Brown has been brought on as bench coach and offensive coordinator and Tommy Joseph as assistant hitting coordinator. Tony Arnerich, who has served as a hitting coach, will fill the bullpen coach position vacated by Stephen Vogt, who was hired to manage the Cleveland Guardians.
“I am really excited about the staff we’ve assembled for 2024 and beyond,” Servais said in a news release. “We have a group whose singular focus is to help our players, and our team, get better each and every day. I believe the addition of Brant and Tommy deepens our hitting group, an area of focus for us, and it allows Tony to move to the bullpen where he can assist us in assuring we stay strong in an area that has been key to our success.”
News the Mariners were close to hiring Brown broke in mid-November with the move not becoming official until this week. Brown, who held positions in the Mariners minors from 2013-2017, brings outside experience in having been a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting group for five years and one year as hitting coach for the Miami Marlins.
Joseph, who was originally drafted by the Red Sox, appeared in 249 games with the Phillies before retiring in 2020. Following his retirement from playing, he served as a coach in the Mets organization for two years and spent the 2023 season as hitting coach at High-A Eugene in the Giants organization.
Brant and Joseph join the returning group of Manny Acta (Third Base Coach), Trent Blank (Major League Coach and Director of Pitching Strategy), Jarret DeHart (Hitting Coach, Director of Hitting Strategy), Perry Hill (Infield Coach), Kristopher Negrón (First Base Coach), Carson Vitale (Major League Field Coordinator) and Pete Woodworth (Pitching Coach).
The Mariners, who ran without a bench coach last year, now have Brown in that role. While there are titles, Servais has stressed the collaborative nature of the group with new eyes and new ideas welcome.
“The group I have around me, I really entrust in those guys and try to empower them as much as I can,” he said this week in Nashville. “I talk about it all the time, how much I have learned from those guys. These are younger guys that maybe have a different look at the game and I am learning from them and hopefully they are learning a few things from me along the way.”
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