Justin Toole Hired as Mariners Director of Player Development

Toole spent the past three seasons as Cleveland’s Major League Hitting Analyst

SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that Justin Toole has been hired as Seattle’s Director of Player Development.

Toole, 36, comes to Seattle from the Cleveland Guardians where he served as Major League Hitting Analyst for three seasons from 2020–22.

“We are beyond thrilled to have Justin leading our Player Development program,” said Assistant General Manager Andy McKay. “In Justin’s career as a player, coach, and member of the front office, he has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to make everyone around him better. With this hire, we have ensured that both our staff and players will continue to grow in ways that will bring us closer to a championship in Seattle.”

Toole transitioned from playing to coaching in 2016, serving as the Hitting Coach for Short-A Mahoning Valley in the Guardians organization. He was promoted in each of the ensuing seasons, serving as Hitting Coach for Class-A Lake County in 2017, High-A Lynchburg in 2018 and Double-A Akron in 2019.

Toole originally signed with Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent in 2009, and spent 7 seasons as a player in the organization. Overall, he appeared in 499 minor league games, while spending the majority of his time at the High-A (253 G) and Double-A (181 G) levels. He appeared defensively at all nine positions during his minor league career, while serving primarily as an infielder.

Toole authored a book “9-in-9” chronicling a game on Aug. 25, 2012 in which he played all nine defensive positions with the High-A Carolina Mudcats.

Toole played 4 seasons of collegiate baseball at the University of Iowa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and Health & Sports Studies in 2009. During his time at Iowa, he was elected by his teammates as team captain and as a member of the Leadership Unity Council. He also served on the Iowa Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He earned his master’s degree from National University in Performance Psychology in 2020.

Justin, his wife Lauren and son Julian reside in Strongsville, Ohio.