SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners fired bench coach and offensive coordinator Brant Brown on Friday less than six months after he was hired for the job.

The club announced Brown's dismissal amid a season-long offensive slump. The Mariners currently rank 29th in MLB with 3.64 runs per game and are tied for 28th in total runs this season. They lead all of baseball in strikeouts.

Brown spent the 2023 season as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach and was hired by the Mariners in December to help revamp an offense that underwhelmed at the plate in 2023. Though the Mariners lead the AL West by three games over the Texas Rangers, the team’s bats have so far failed to live up to expectations.

“Obviously we've had some struggles on the offensive side, and it's not all (Brown's) fault, by any means,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “It's just, you know, we want to make a change there, maybe a little bit different voice. With our players, we really need to get our guys focused back into doing what they do best. That's coaching, how do you get the most out of your guys? That's what we're going to focus on here going forward."

Seattle said in its announcement that Brown had been “relieved of his duties,” while further clarifying that “Director of Hitting Strategy Jarret DeHart and Assistant Hitting Coach Tommy Joseph will continue and expand on their roles with the hitters.”

“Some of these things as a player are way above your head, so that stuff we try not to focus on," Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger said. "But if affects us, and unfortunately, our collective production as an offense kind of led to this decision. All of us don't feel too great about that. ... (Brown) is not the one to blame for that, it's not his fault.”

Brown was the Mariners minor league outfield coordinator from 2012 to 2016 and player development system offensive coordinator in 2017 before spending five years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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