The Tacoma Rainiers had a historic season in 2021, winning a league championship while posting the second-best winning percentage in franchise history.
When a team has that kind of success, other organizations notice. Two of the Tacoma Rainiers coaches have been hired away and promoted by other teams.
Pitching coach Rob Marcello was hired by the San Diego Padres to be their Director of Pitching Development. Marcello will oversee pitching instruction for all of the Padres minor leaguers, and may have a hand in major league instruction as well.
Rainiers coach Eric Young Jr. is on his way to the big leagues, as he was just hired by the Washington Nationals to be the first base coach. The story was broken by… his dad, Atlanta Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. at the World Series (we also learned that Eric Young Jr. has a brother who is an actor).
It’s pretty neat that the Youngs will be father-son competitors in the same role – first base coach – for two teams competing in the same division. They’ll see each other a lot!
Young Jr. and Marcello were instrumental parts of the Tacoma Rainiers championship season, and they will always remember 2021.
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The Mariners started adjusting their 40-man roster, as required in the off-season. The following players were removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Tacoma:
- Jake Bauers
- Sam Haggerty
- Shed Long
- Darren McCaughan
- Marcus Wilson
- Ryan Weber
Additionally, pitcher Ljay Newsome was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals.
During the regular season, players who are “outrighted to Tacoma” immediately join the Rainiers. But this is a different time of year: players who have been outrighted and have more than six years of professional experience can choose to become free agents.
All of the above players can become free agents, with one exception: Darren McCaughan does not yet have enough professional experience to become a free agent. At this point in time he appears likely to be with Tacoma next year. As for the rest of the outrighted players, I suspect all will choose to become free agents – Shed Long and Ryan Weber have both already announced the will do so.
Stories You Might Like:
- Here’s the story on Eric Young Jr. going to the Nationals as first base coach, with more details from Baseball Trade Rumors.
- The Seattle Times had an article on the first round of Mariners players outrighted to Tacoma, and then had a follow-up when Jake Bauers was added to the list.
- Ken Griffey Jr. joined the Seattle Mariners ownership group.
OK, that’s it for now, back to winter hibernation and learning about hockey. Our next blog post will come when the news warrants it.
About the Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The Rainiers are a member of the Triple-A West. Tacoma has been a Mariners affiliate since establishing the Rainiers moniker in 1995.
Questions regarding season tickets can be directed to Tickets@WeRTacoma.com.
The most up-to-date news and notes about the Tacoma Rainiers and Cheney Stadium can be found at WeRTacoma.com, or by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand), Instagram (@tacomarainiers) and liking the team on Facebook.
March 16, 2023