Mariners reportedly hire new hitting coach as manager search continues

The Seattle Mariners have not named a new manager, but they have reportedly filled a vacancy on their coaching staff.

Seattle Mariners pick up Muñoz contract option, decline 2 others

CJ Gillman is returning to the franchise as hitting coach, The Athletic reported Friday. Gillman was Seattle’s minor league hitting coordinator from 2022-25 and spent the 2026 season as Washington Nationals director of hitting.

According to The Athletic, Gillman was involved more with the Nationals’ minor league system, which made “significant gains in exit velocity, launch angle and pitch selection while shaping new training environments and an entirely new hitting philosophy.”

The Nationals minor league teams improved from 29th in wRC+ in 2025 to eighth in 2026, and 29th in home run rate in 2025 to seventh in 2026, per The Athetic.

The Mariners reportedly turning to Gillman is notable considering he led the Mariners’ minor league hitting staff for multiple years, and M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke at the end of the 2026 season about a disconnect between the big league team and how players have been developed in the farm system.

“The performance on the field this year has made us question a lot of the things that we are doing at the major league level,” Dipoto said on Sept. 28. “And I will say multiple of our major league players who came through our system have referenced what they learned in player development that got abandoned in the big leagues this year. … We have a host of players who’ve come through our system, and they saw a difference. We need to get back to what we believe is a Mariners baseball process.”

The Mariners are bringing back former minor league hitting coordinator CJ Gillman-who spent '26 as Nationals director of hitting- as hitting coach. Response perhaps to M's players from the system noting what was taught in the minors was abandoned at the big league level this year

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) October 30, 2026

Gillman is a Colorado native who played in college at Dayton and spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons playing for the Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent Frontier League as a corner infielder and outfielder. Before joining the Mariners organization, he was a volunteer assistant at Dayton, had a 5 1/2-year tenure as an assistant coach for Air Force, and was minor league hitting coordinator for the Cincinnati Reds for two years.

The Mariners announced after the season that hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, bench coach Manny Acta, infield coach Perry Hill and first base coach Eric Young Jr. would not return in 2027. They previously let assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes go in July.

Dipoto said in September he expects director hitting strategy Edgar Martinez to remain with the Mariners, though he was unsure in what role.

The Mariners announced on the final day of the 2026 season they were parting ways with manager Dan Wilson after two-plus seasons. It is expected they will name a new manager soon, with former Houston Astros skipper Joe Espada and current Chicago Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler reported to be two candidates scheduled for in-person interviews this week.

Seattle Mariners news and more

• Morosi: What makes Joe Espada a fit to be M’s next manager
• Former Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver retires
• Salk: 5 qualities the Seattle Mariners’ next manager needs

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