Mariners promote Emanuel Sifuentes to take on Andy McKay’s role as director of player development

Even with baseball banned, Mariners could still announce promotions in their front office and high-performing staff, including the replacement of Andy McKay, who moved from the front office position of director of player development to a coaching position on the team .

Emanuel Sifuentes, who has been with the organization for eight years, has been named to succeed McKay and has moved from his role as deputy director of player development.

He will be responsible for leading and overseeing the organization’s player development staff in all subsidiaries in the minor leagues. From 2019-20 he was the manager of the players’ staff. He joined the Mariners in 2014 as a coordinator in the advanced scouting department after serving as an intern on the Dodgers’ baseball operations team in 2013.

Mat Snider will take the old position of Sifuentes.

Starting his fourth season in the organization, Snider has spent the past three seasons as the player development coordinator. He is also a former player and a Pepperdine graduate.

“The key to our success lies in how well we care for, train and develop our players,” said general manager Jerry Dipoto in a statement. “These executives ensure this as our daily focus and bring a high level of communication, innovation and creativity with them.”

The Mariners made the following promotions in the Heavy Duty Department:

• Rob Scheidegger – Senior Director, High Performance
• Kate Weiss – Director, Sports Science
• John Walker – manager, rehab and return to play
• Greg Ackerman – Analyst, Sports Science

Scheidegger, who spent almost 20 years at the Department of Athletics at the University of Washington and most recently held the position of Associate Athletic Director for Health & Wellness – Head Athletic Trainer, joined the Mariners on April 23, 2021 as Manager of High Performance. He leads and directs the medical and athletic training staff as well as overseeing strength & conditioning, sports science and performance nutrition throughout the organization.

Weiss also joined the Mariners organization on March 19, 2021 and acted as coordinator for sports science. According to the press release, it oversees “the collection and dissemination of all data relating to the health, readiness and performance of players”. She spent the last two and a half years with the Dodgers as the major league sports science coordinator. She received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Southern California in 2009, her Master of Science, Exercise Science – Biomechanics from Ball State University in 2013, and her PhD in Exercise Science and Biomechanics from Auckland (NZ) University of Technology in 2017 .

Walker, who is beginning his fifth season in the Mariners organization, will oversee all player rehabilitation in the organization’s minor league members as well as the major league club. Previously, he had been the coordinator for the medical and athletic training of the minor league since 2018. Walker worked as a physical therapist with the Cincinnati Reds organization from 2004 to 2010 and received his Masters in Physiotherapy from East Carolina University.

Ackerman joined the Mariners organization in May 2021. In his role as a sports science analyst, he will monitor and conduct quantitative analyzes with a focus on athlete workload, athletics, baseball biomechanics and injury prevention. He spent portions of three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2017-20, and is a 2015 graduate of Syracuse University.