Seattle Mariners third base coach John Stearns stepped down from the job Friday to focus on recovering from hernia surgery, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.
The club promoted Class AAA Tacoma manager Rich Donnelly to take over third-base coaching duties. General manager Jack Zduriencik said Donnelly’s replacement at Tacoma will be announced in a few days.
The Mariners reassigned Stearns to the club’s pro scouting department and he will start his new job when he is healthy enough. He had hiatal hernia surgery on Feb. 24 after experiencing discomfort in his upper abdomen.
“I am not physically able to perform the role of third-base coach yet and it appears that I will not be able to perform the job until the middle of April,” Stearns said.
“It is not fair to the organization, to (manager) Lloyd (McClendon) or to the players for me to expect to jump back in after not being able to participate in the bulk of spring training. I have asked Jack to reassign me within the organization, and he has agreed to do so.”
Donnelly has been coaching at the major-league level for 27 years, including 14 as a third-base coach.