Justin Hollander passionately defends Mariners training staff

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander is right to call out criticism of the training staff, but there’s also an element of perspective.

As he does ahead of every Mariners homestand, general manager Justin Hollander sat down with the media to provide injury updates and take questions. However, he also unexpectedly started off the session by defending the training staff.

Hollander acknowledged it’s fair for fans to be frustrated by the sheer volume of injuries this season, but what he didn’t think was fair, was throwing the training staff under the bus for things that are out of their control. As reported by Teren Kowatsch of Roundtable Sports, he said:

“If you ask our players — present or former — how they feel about this training staff, they will tell you they are as good and as empathetic and caring and skilled as any training staff in the league. I’m not going to go through them individually, (but) I just wanted to stick up for those guys and how unfair I think it is that there have been people both in the lunatic fringe (of social media) and maybe in sports talk radio, who have taken the opportunity to call for their heads, for lack of a better way of saying it.”

Hollander added that despite all of the injuries, there hadn’t been any to starting pitchers, but it’s not as if the trainers had found some new way to specifically keep them healthy. He talked passionately about how the staff put their hearts and souls into taking care of the players and developing trusting relationships.

Justin Hollander states M’s training staff deserves better

The Dayton, Ohio native admitted that perhaps he had spent too much time on social media, but he still felt the need to defend the training staff. To finish off, he said:

“When someone is hurt, and there are a lot of guys on this list that are, it’s not their fault. When playing sports at a high level, it happens, and the (training staff) are awesome in my opinion. They deserve better than people online posting their pictures and saying they should be fired. That’s not right and (we’re) better than that.”

Certainly you have to applaud Hollander for sticking up for the training staff. It’s admirable and makes a lot of sense, offering evidence of how well-liked he is by everyone within the Mariners organizaition (as well as the media).

Hollander’s right about injuries just being a part of professional sports at such an elite level, with it also being heinous that certain individuals are sharing photos of the training staff online. The issue with the “lunatic fringe” as he refers to them, is that it often only takes a few people to stoke the fires and get more fans going.

Amount of player injuries has been extraordinary

This still doesn’t change the reality that there have been an extraordinary amount of injuries to the Mariners this season. Look at any of the issues individually, and it’s just one of those things, but add them all together, and it makes the fanbase exasperated and searching for reasons why this is happening.

In this respect, it’s about perspective. There have been several times when the Mariners have said a player is just day-to-day and then ends up going on the Injured List, with prime examples including J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena.

You’ve also got the case of Cal Raleigh trying to play through an injury which, while you can give him kudos for wanting to tough it out (in line with his personality), proved detrimental to the team. Throw in the likes of Brendan Donovan and Matt Brash both returning to the IL for second and more extended stints this season, and the frustration is only going to grow within the Mariners fansbase.

Just to be clear, nothing excuses going after the training staff and trying to get them fired. Do people really believe they are purposely doing things to get players injured?!?! (Although, harsh or not, you suspect there were no such irrational claims from fans with Monday’s news that the struggling Rob Refsnyder has been placed on the 10-day IL, with right knee inflammation.)

Criticism of injuries symptomatic of a bigger issue for fans

What is fair though, is if questions are asked about what is being done, or more specifically, if anything can be done differently? For example, a valuable lesson has been learnt about not letting players attempt to tough it out, with Raleigh himself admitting he should have gone on the IL earlier.

Along these lines, Luke Raley is currently day-to-day with left forearm soreness and feels like he can play with the issue. However, the Mariners won’t allow Raley to risk causing any longer-term issues and Hollander admits a stint on the IL is a possibility.

Ultimately though, any frustration felt by fans about the training staff — whether justified or not — is indicative of the overall frustration with this team. When considering all the lofty preseason expectations surrounding the Mariners, no one expected them to be a .500 team just past the halfway point of the 2026 campaign.

As such, it’s now time for the Mariners to begin playing up to their collective talent level on a more consistent basis moving forward. As they say, winning cures all ills and if they can start putting it together, then the lunatic fringe and sports radio personalities alike will stop targeting the training staff.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

• USA Soccer Team Shows Patience, Maturity, and Guile in 2-0 Victory
• Mariners pitching prospect duo selected for All-Star Futures Game
• Youri Tielemans Secures Belgium’s Victory in Extra Time
• Mariners hopeful as Brendan Donovan steps up recovery workouts
• Sounders FC and Seattle Reign join forces to expand viewing parties