dpTanner Swanson, who had been the Yankees catching coordinator since November 2019, is leaving to become the bench coach of the Mariners, The Post has learned.
The Washington native and Central Washington University graduate will serve under Jason Kanzler, who was named Seattle’s manager earlier this week.
Swanson had gained a strong reputation since going from the Twins organization to the Yankees, a tenure in which he helped the Yankees rise to the forefront of framing by their catchers.
In the seven seasons in which Swanson was in charge of the Yankees catchers, they easily led the majors in various framing statistics, most notably Catcher Framing Runs.
Swanson, who was originally hired as the team’s director of catching and had since been promoted to a dual title that also included major league field coordinator, had established an impressive catching tree around the game.
In addition to Gold Glove finalist Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra, who had grown under Swanson’s teaching, the Yankees had moved on from Kyle Higashioka, Jose Trevino, Carlos Narváez, Luis Torrens, Agustín Ramírez and Rafael Flores, all of whom earned significant playing time elsewhere.
Developing and often off-loading catchers — under Swanson and his partner in player development, run prevention coordinator and catching coordinator Aaron Gershenfeld — has been a real strength of the organization for the 2020s.
Swanson, who served as the bench coach for Great Britain during the 2026 World Baseball Classic, received interest from other organizations last offseason. This time around, he was on an expiring contract.
