| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 12-02-2011 |
The Seattle Mariners announced their minor league staffs for the 2012 season and there are some interesting changes.
We knew Pedro Grifol would take over as skipper at Class-A High Desert while Chris Gwynn was brought in as Player Development Director. There were more adjustments, however.
Daren Brown is back as manager in Triple-A Tacoma and Dwight Bernard returns as pitching coach. Alonzo Powell was hired by the Padres.
Jim Pankovits returns to manage Double-A Jackson and Lance Painter will be the pitching coach. Cory Snyder will serve as hitting coach.
Eddie Menchaca will again manage Class-A Clinton with pitching coach Andrew Lorraine (pitching) and Tommy Cruz (hitting) by his side.
Everett will be led by Rob Mummau, who was the club's Carolina area scout. Yes, the same guy that signed Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager, to name a few. He's now an area scout in Florida.
Rich Dorman is back in Everett to serve as pitching coach and Andy Bottin will coach the hitters.
Tom Dettore, who is back for his fourth year in the organization, will be Grifol's pitching coach. Roy Howell will be the team's hitting coach. It's Howell's first season in Seattle's organization, but he has several years of experience coaching and managing.
Mike Kinkade will manage the rookie club in Peoria and last year's High Desert skipper, Jose Moreno, heads to Pulaski to join Nasusel Cabrera, the pitching coach.
Also on Peoria's staff are Scott Steinmann and former M's minor league Brent Johnson. Cibney Bello, former M's minor league pitcher, will be Peoria's pitching coach.
The hitting coach in Triple-A is going to be Jeff Pentland, I am told, but word is Pentland's current contract with the Dodgers is good through the end of the month.
So what does all this mean? Well, coaches and managers are the player developers within a club's minor league system, so it's critical to the big league team that the right people are manning these positions.
While I, personally, can't vouch for or criticize any of the coaches or the decisions to hire them or keep them, but it sounds to me like things are in better order for 2012 than they were for 2011, particularly in High Desert, where the staff is as about as experienced as a Class-A staff gets.
One thing I feel obligated to mention is that some of these coaches are back for 2012 but with a team at a lower level than in previous seasons. This is normal, and not seen as your basic demotion. Staffs are often matched with the potential rosters they will be coaching.
Tacoma (AAA)
Manager: Daren Brown
Pitching: Dwight Bernard
Hitting: Jeff Pentland*
Jackson (AA)
Manager: Jim Pankovitz
Pitching: Lance Painter
Hitting: Cory Snyder
High Desert (A+)
Manager: Pedro Grifol
Pitching: Tom Dettore
Hitting: Roy Howell
Clinton (A)
Manager: Eddie Menchaca
Pitching: Andrew Lorraine
Hitting: Tommy Cruz
Everett (SS)
Manager: Rob Mummau
Pitching: Rich Dorman
Hitting: Andy Bottin
Peoria (R)
Manager: Mike Kinkade
Pitching: Cibney Bello
Hitting/Fielding: Brent Johnson, Scott Steinmann
Pulaski (R)
Manager: Jose Moreno
Pitching: Nasusel Cabrera
Hitting: Rafael Santo Domingo
*Pentland is not under contract, but a source tells me he's the choice in Tacoma, so we'll go with him for now.
m\'s-announce-player-development-staff
Comments
The following 3 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: rotoenquire on 12-02-2011 19:34:46 Off Topic: But the M's just signed D. Ford to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. This is more than just organizational depth. Is he insurance for Guity should he not be 100% which I think is a worry to have. A prototypical JackZ guy, talented could be a find and at a good value. Also helps lead the way with our OF depth for a trade.. I like Ford a lot.. |
| 2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 12-02-2011 19:43:37 No, it's organizational depth. Ford is not guaranteed jack squat, not a roster spot, nor any money. But the M's aren't so high in Mike Saunders these days and believe Wells may be part of the answer in left and won't always be available in center field. There WILL be trades of outfielders this winter. Anything from small potatoes like Saunders and Peguero to a deal involving Wells or Carp (if you consider Carp an outfielder.) Gutierrez doesn't have any trade value, but the concern on him isn't healthy anymore. It's plain old production. |
| 3. By: maqman on 12-03-2011 13:30:09 I think Guti will be better with the stick as long as his health holds up. If he and Ichiro can bounce back a bit next season that will be a nice plus. If not some hard decisions will have to be made. |
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