The Braves won't have to worry about Kevin Seitzer coming back to haunt them next season

The Atlanta Braves kicked off their offseason by making a pretty controversial decision, firing Kevin Seitzer after a decade-long run as the team's hitting coach.

On one hand, the firing made sense. After years of having a dominant offense and following a historically great 2023 campaign offensively, the Braves ranked 15th in the majors in runs scored and 12th in OPS. One year after being the best offense in baseball in just about every category, they were merely mediocre overall.

On the other hand, Seitzer guided this offense, which dealt with injuries from just about every major contributor other than Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson to league average despite the team's adversity. An argument can be made that he made the most of what he had to work with, yet was fired immediately after one down year.

Atlanta's sudden decision to fire Seitzer gave fans reason to fear that he could wind up haunting the Braves while wearing another uniform. Based on where he ended up, though, it isn't looking like that's going to be the case.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Kevin Seitzer lands in best possible destination for Braves fans

Seitzer was hired by the Seattle Mariners to be their hitting coach, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. It's hard to imagine much of a better landing spot in the eyes of Braves fans.

Seeing Seitzer in another uniform will be uncomfortable for Braves fans regardless, but having him land with a team that plays on the other side of the country and in the opposite league certainly helps. The Braves will only see Seitzer's Mariners three times annually barring a meeting in the World Series.

In addition to Seitzer barely having anything to do with the Braves considering his team's location and league, the Mariners are an offense in dire need of major work. They have good pieces, like Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh, but the Mariners have several holes in their lineup.

Seitzer can and probably will make their offense better, but will he make them elite or even above average? It's easy to have doubts there. Barring a major turnaround, there's a good chance that Seattle's improvements under Seitzer won't be clear enough for Atlanta to regret letting him go.

Again, it'll hurt seeing Seitzer wear another uniform considering how long and how much success he had with the Braves, but considering the circumstances, Braves fans couldn't have asked for a much better landing spot.