Seattle Mariners 2020 staff announced, youth movements everywhere

The Seattle Mariners officially announced their 2020 field staff and to say there are a lot of changes would be an understatement. But above all else, one thing is clear: there are some new kids on the block.

Yes, it appears the Seattle Mariners are not confining their youth movement to just the 40-man roster. Amongst the many changes to the coaching staff are new pitching, bullpen, bench, asst. hitting, and 3rd base coaches as well as a new Major League Field Coordinator.

And as you may have figured out by now, the Mariners didn’t go out and hire retreads from around the league. No, they truly have embraced a youth movement on their coaching staff. The new assistant hitting coach, Jarret DeHart, is just 25-years-old.

DeHart, who graduated from Tulane in 2017, went undrafted out of college and never appeared in a professional baseball game. But the youngster is widely considered one of the brightest young minds in games and has been working with the Mariners since he left Tulane.

DeHart is the youngest member of the staff, but not by a longshot. Joining DeHart on the MLB staff is 31-year-old Carson Vitale as the new ML Field Coordinator. Vitale played baseball at Creighton University and was a 38th round draft pick of the Texas Rangers. He appeared in just 46 games in the low minors before his playing career ended in 2011.

Rounding out the trio of pup coaches is new pitching coach Pete Woodworth. Like Vitale and DeHart, Woodworth has been in the Mariners organization and has been promoted from within. The new pitching coach is 31-years-old and comes straight from the AA Arkansas PC role.

Woodworth is a former player turned scout, giving him a unique perspective when working with young arms. He is regarded as one of the top young minds in the game and a believer in using data and biomechanics to maximize the potential of any arm. The Woodworth hire was leaked a week ago by Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider and Hero Sports (@prospectinsider).

The Mariners youth movement may be the headline, but a few other changes were announced. Perhaps most notable are the new roles for former bench coach Manny Acta, who is now the third-base coach, and former ML Field Coordinator Jared Sandberg, who takes over for Acta as the bench coach.

Brian DeLunas returns to his old role as the bullpen coach after serving as the Mariners Director of Pitching Development in 2019. Mariners manager Scott Servais, hitting coach Tim Laker, and first base/infield coach Perry Hill all return to the positions they held in 2019.