The Angels decided they’d seen enough.
With the club sitting in last place in the AL West, Los Angeles fired pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott on Tuesday. The move was about more than a lousy 24th-ranked ERA, too. The organization’s message also pointed to a bigger issue: the coaches weren’t using technology the way the team and players wanted them to.
For the Mariners, that kind of blunt cleanup should land as a warning. Nobody is forcing a team to keep bad coaches around.
Seattle, at eight games under .500, is in a spot that invites uncomfortable questions of its own. Dan Wilson’s record - a .528 winning percentage and an ALCS trip in two years - sounds respectable on paper, but the results and the feel of this team tell a different story.
His handling of the bullpen remains a glaring problem, including the Eduard Bazardo mess in last year’s ALCS. And this season has only sharpened another concern: his laid-back approach seems to have seeped into the club’s daily edge.
Wilson does still serve as a shield for his players, though even that comes with caveats. Too many Mariners have escaped the kind of accountability their performances have earned. Cal Raleigh at least said it out loud on Tuesday, admitting, "I'm awful", but that kind of honesty would have carried more weight if it had come earlier, not in August.
The bigger issue is that Wilson is part of a larger failure, not the whole explanation for it. Hitting director Edgar Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer deserve a heavy share of the blame for a Mariners offense that sits dead-last in the majors with 463 runs. Hitting is never simple, but it is fair to wonder why the praise for Martinez so often centers on mechanics and not enough on the day-to-day game-planning that should be helping this lineup function better.
Still, the Mariners probably aren’t about to make a dramatic move of their own. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times has reported that Wilson is too popular inside the organization to be treated the way Scott Servais was.
If that’s the case, Martinez is likely protected for the same reason. Moving on from a depth coach is one thing.
Moving on from a franchise icon and one of the best right-handed hitters ever is a different level of decision.
Even so, the league keeps offering examples of what a shakeup can do. Seattle already lived through one last year, when Servais was fired in 2024 and Wilson then helped spark a 21-13 run over the final 34 games. That doesn’t erase the fact that Wilson now looks like the man who should be feeling the heat, but it does show how quickly a team can respond when it changes direction.
The Phillies and Red Sox have provided even more recent proof. Philadelphia fired Rob Thomson in late April, while Boston went further and dismissed Alex Cora along with basically all of his top lieutenants.
Both moves shocked the league, especially the one in Boston. Since May 1, though, both clubs have won 52 games and sit among MLB’s top five in that span.
The Angels may or may not get a similar bump from their coaching purge. But if they do, it will only deepen the question in Seattle: did the Mariners lean on loyalty for too long?
In Other News...
Mariners Add Catching Insurance Behind Cal Raleigh
The Mariners added another layer of catching depth this week, claiming Willie MacIver off waivers from the Blue Jays and sending him to Triple-A Tacoma. For a club that values stability behind the plate, it is the kind of low-key move that can matter over the course of a long season, especially with Cal Raleigh entrenched as the top option and the organization looking to keep the position covered at the upper levels.
MacIvers path has been a little unsettled, with Toronto designating him for assignment after previously claiming him from Texas. Seattle had the roster flexibility to take a look, and with open 40-man spots, the team could add a player it views as useful insurance without forcing a tougher decision elsewhere. For now, Tacoma is where that depth begins, and the Mariners can see if MacIver gives them another name to keep in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Cole Young Gives Mariners A Needed Bright Spot This Season
Cole Young has quietly become one of the more encouraging developments in Seattles season. In his second MLB year, the Mariners second baseman has taken a real step forward from his rookie campaign, showing better contact rates, more consistent barrel work and stronger defensive numbers that have lifted his overall value. For a club that has needed more steady production in a few spots, Youngs growth has offered something tangible to point to.
Edgar Martinez has been part of that climb, and Young has credited work with the Mariners legend for helping unlock more offensive progress. The result is a player who now looks more settled at the plate and more reliable in the field, which matters in a lineup and infield that can use every bit of stability it can get. Whether this becomes a true breakout or simply the next stage of his development, Young has already given Seattle one of its clearest bright spots. [Read more 🡒]