3 dream candidates to succeed Kevin Seitzer if Mariners seek a new hitting coach

If Dan Wilson is doomed as the Seattle Mariners' manager, then Kevin Seitzer shouldn't be any safer as their hitting coach. The buck for their woeful offense has to stop somewhere, and it obviously isn't going to be pitching coach Pete Woodworth.

To hear it from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, everyone on the Mariners' coaching staff should be worried right now. Though the idea of firing Jerry Dipoto as president of baseball operations has merit, he's seemingly safe. And so, in Rosenthal's words: "Wilson and some of his coaches, then, figure to be the only casualties."

The Mariners hired Seitzer and Bobby Magallanes at the same time in 2024, and moved forward with the notion that they would align with director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez to craft a different sort of Mariners offense. This one would be more old-school, with an emphasis on using the whole field and generally being more well-rounded.

It worked late in 2024 and throughout 2025, but the wheels fully came off this year. Indeed, the offense somehow got worse after Magallanes' firing in July. Only three teams have scored fewer runs across the whole season.

3 picks to be the Mariners' next hitting coach, including old friend Daniel Vogelbach

If Seitzer and/or Martinez are next, it'll be back to the job board for Dipoto and the front office. They presumably already have ideas for who they might hire, but we still think it's worthwhile to toss out a list of dream candidates who could shake things up.

These guys aren't necessarily "available," but our thinking is that a potential solo gig with the Mariners could be more appealing than the ones they have now. Each of the three is either an assistant hitting coach or co-hitting coach with another team, and would hopefully be granted permission to interview with the Mariners if they came calling.

Daniel Vogelbach, Milwaukee Brewers co-hitting coach

Given how sour the experiences with Martinez and Wilson have gotten, it's perfectly natural to wonder if the Mariners really want to double down on hiring former fan favorites as coaches.

Fear not, weary skeptic. We bring up Daniel Vogelbach not because he's that likeable guy who once hit 30 homers for the Mariners in 2019. We bring him up because his first year as a co-hitting coach in Milwaukee suggests he's got the goods.

Only one team has hit fewer home runs than the Brewers' 147, yet they're second in the league in runs scored. It's not their first rodeo as a low-power, high-run offense, but the twist this year includes a lot more walks. Only four clubs have increased their walk rate over 2025 by a wider margin than the Brewers' 1.5 percentage points. For what it's worth, Vogelbach had one of the best eyes in the game during his playing days.

The Mariners could use more patience in their offense, and we wouldn't complain if Vogelbach brought over the "all of the above" approach that has made Milwaukee's offense so dangerous. Contrary to the messaging under Martinez and Seitzer, there has to be more to it than just using the whole field.

Aaron Bates, Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach

Obviously, the Dodgers are able to afford some pretty good hitters, yet the impact of their co-hitting coaches is not to be dismissed. Robert Van Scoyoc is the guy who helped turn J.D. Martinez into an elite slugger, while Aaron Bates has a delightfully holistic view of hitting.

Bates stressed hitting the ball hard in an interview with David Laurila of FanGraphs back in 2019, and that idea is a breath of fresh air amid a season that has seen the Mariners shave 4.2 percentage points off their hard-hit rate from last year. In that same interview, Bates stressed that "there are tons of different swings," and that he coaches accordingly.

"It’s not a cookie-cutter way of teaching one person one thing; it’s based on their movements," Bates said. "We all want to get to the same spot, we just might have to tell ourselves different things to get there."

A guy with this mindset could be just what the Mariners need going forward. Specifically given their extremely different hitting profiles, a coach with Bates' attention to detail could only help Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor rebound in 2027.

John Mallee, Chicago Cubs assistant hitting coach

If the idea is to become the best, why not hire from the best? The Cubs are MLB's resident offensive juggernaut in 2026, leading the league in runs, home runs, slugging and OPS. Along with hitting coach Dustin Kelly and fellow assistant Juan Cabreja, John Mallee has had a hand in this.

Even more interesting is his role in shepherding Pete Crow-Armstrong to superstardom. Mallee has worked with PCA since his minor league days, and specifically worked with him on crafting a consistent setup and routine ahead of the 2026 season.

Clearly, Mallee owes himself a pat on the back for what Crow-Armstrong has become. He was a glove-first prospect. Then he became a 30-homer slugger in 2025, and now a 40-homer slugger in 2026. He's also among this year's biggest gainers in hard-hit rate and the biggest gainer with a 6.8-point improvement to his walk rate.

As a Mariners coach, we're thinking about what Mallee might do for younger guys like Cole Young, Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo. If they are to play key parts on future clubs, it might be a good idea to have them work with the guy who unlocked the best young hitter in MLB today.

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