The Seattle Mariners lost a third coach this week as Kristopher Negron becomes the latest to exit Dan Wilson's staff.

Negron, who served as the third-base coach with the Mariners this season, is headed to Pittsburgh to become the bench coach for the Pirates.

Jason Mackey, Pirates reporter, had the news on social media:

Sources: Pirates hiring Kristopher Negron as bench coach and bringing Tony Beasley back as third-base coach.

Negron comes from the Mariners, where he was 3B/1B coach the past 4 seasons. Beasley was with the Rangers but has an extensive Pirates background.

More to come.

The M's coaching churn

Andy McKay, who spent the last decade in player development for the Mariners, was the first to leave. He took an on-field coaching job with the Cleveland Guardians, who are managed by Stephen Vogt, a former M's bullpen coach.

Then, the M's lost another assistant to Cleveland, as bullpen coach Tony Arnerich departed for Vogt's staff.

Seattle filled his spot by hiring former catcher Austin Nola, who has just concluded his playing career.

About Negron

Negron spent four years with the Mariners at the big-league level and he also served as the manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021. This new gig in Pittsburgh could certainly be prepping him for a future managerial role down the line.

Almost 40 years, Negron spent parts of six years in the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Mariners and Dodgers. He was a lifetime .221 hitter in 170 games. He played 28 games for Seattle, hitting one home run and stealing three bases.

How much does his loss hurt?

As I've said multiple times on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast this week, I am a fan of continuity on a staff, especially when that staff is a good one.

Andy McKay Leaving + Austin Nola Coming + The A-Rod Talk + @TheJagePage Joins Us Refuse to Lose - a Seattle Mariners Podcast · Episode

The Mariners won 90 games and advanced to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, so bringing back the entire staff would have certainly been preferred, but that said? As long as the main components of Kevin Seitzer, Edgar Martinez, Manny Acta, Pete Woodworth, Trent Blanke and Perry Hill are back, I feel pretty good.

Think about it like a football team: If you retained your head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, but lost your special teams coordinator in an offseason, you'd have to still feel pretty good about the staff you've assembled.

That's how I feel about the Mariners. It doesn't mean that Negron isn't valuable, it's just that you still feel good about the overall structure.

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