Former Seattle Mariners Coach Discusses Team's Decision to Rebuild After 2018 Season

The 2018 Seattle Mariners went 89-73 for the season and missed the playoffs, continuing a playoff drought that had existed since the start of the 2002 season. Though the drought was eventually broken in 2022, that season represented a turning point for the organization.

Following the season, the M's elected to rebuild, trading away James Paxton, Robinson Cano, Jean Segura and Edwin Diaz. The M's acquired veterans like Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce, only to trade them away as well over the course of the year. The 2019 Mariners went 68-94 and finished in last place in the American League West.

We caught up with former Mariners coach Scott Brosius on the most recent edition of the Refuse to Lose podcast to talk about the 2018 season, the decision to rebuild and much more:

Question (paraphrase): Scott, I believe you when you say you didn't leave because a rebuild was coming, but was there a sense that one was coming after that 2018 season?

Answer (exact): ​There ​was. ​I ​think ​there ​was ​honest ​conversations ​about ​that. ​And ​the ​truth ​was, ​I ​think ​It ​was ​the ​right ​move ​to ​make. The ​reality, ​if ​you ​look ​back ​at ​it ​with ​just ​an ​honest set ​of ​eyes, ​we ​weren't ​winning ​at ​the ​time with ​that ​roster. ​I ​mean, we ​were ​close, ​but ​we ​really ​hadn't ​been ​able ​to ​push ​through ​and ​win. ​And ​so ​I ​think ​there ​was ​some ​recognition ​like, ​'hey, ​if ​we're ​going ​to ​get ​to ​where ​we ​want ​to ​get ​to, ​we ​got ​to ​do ​it ​in ​a ​little ​different ​way.' ​And ​so, ​that ​wasn't, ​for ​me, ​that ​wasn't ​the ​reason. They ​were ​a ​little ​bit ​more ​I ​think, ​personal, ​family ​and ​just ​other ​opportunities. ​Like ​I ​said, ​just ​a ​unique ​opportunity ​to ​maybe ​do ​something ​else ​that ​I ​would ​really ​love ​and ​maybe ​not ​be ​on ​the ​road ​as ​much ​as ​I ​was. ​So ​it ​was kind of ​a ​combination ​of ​things. ​But ​it ​wasn't ​necessarily ​because ​of ​the ​experience ​that ​I ​had ​there ​or ​the ​direction ​the ​team ​was ​going. ​Like ​I ​said, ​I ​was ​really proud ​to ​wear ​the ​uniform ​and ​really appreciative of the opportunity.

Brosius played 11 years in the big leagues with the Athletics and the New York Yankees. He won three World Series titles in New York and coached from 2016-2018 in the M's organization.

You can listen to the full interview as part of the podcast below: