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TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays filled a hole in their coaching staff Thursday by announcing that former all-star third baseman Kevin Seitzer will serve as the teams hitting coach next season. Adidas Originals Dragon Zapatos . He succeeds Chad Mottola, who spent one year in the position after Dwayne Murphy moved from hitting coach to first-base coach after the 2012 campaign. Seitzer, 51, served as hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals from 2009-12. The 2010 Royals team was second in Major League Baseball with a .274 average and the 11 squad was fourth at .275. "For me the bottom line as far as philosophy and approach is really making consistent hard contact," Seitzer said on a conference call. "And thats why the thinking, the plan of hitting the ball in the middle of the field, staying gap to gap, gives you a better chance to put the barrel of the bat on the ball." The Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing 73-89 season. Toronto had a team average of .252 this past year, 15th in the majors. Toronto was fourth in home runs with 185 and 11th in RBIs with 669, and the team had the sixth fewest strikeouts. Seitzer, a native of Springfield, Ill., also served as hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the first half of the 2007 season. As a player, he finished runner-up for Rookie of the Year to Mark McGwire in 1987. He was an all-star that year with the Royals and again in 1995 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Over 12 big-league seasons, Seitzer had a .295 average with 74 home runs and 613 RBIs for the Royals, Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians. The team previously announced that Mottola and Murphy will not return for the 2014 campaign. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale, pitching coach Pete Walker, third-base coach Luis Rivera and bullpen coach Pat Hentgen will return in their current roles under manager John Gibbons. The Blue Jays have yet to find a replacement for Murphy. Adidas Superstar 2 Mujer . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Adidas Zx Flux Baratas . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http:///...riginals-zx-750.html . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. All-Star closer Joe Nathan became a free agent Friday after declining a $9 million contract option in his deal with the Texas Rangers. After the Rangers exercised their portion of a mutual option, Nathan opted out of the deal, as expected. The right-hander wants at least a two-year agreement, which the Rangers dont plan to offer. "My expectation is that there are other teams that maybe have a bigger need in the bullpen and will put in more resources than we are," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "We have some other areas that are a higher priority for us to address." Because he finished more than 55 games this season, Nathan was able to opt out of the deal. By declining the option, Nathan gave up a $750,000 buyout. Nathan, who turns 39 later this month, had 80 saves over two All-Star seasons in Texas. He was 6-2 with a 1.39 ERA and 43 saves this year. Daniels said the Rangers feel their bullpen in an area of strength and depth. He expects the next closer to come from within the organization, though he said a decision on who that will be likely wont be made until the Rangers get to spring training in Arizona. "We have a number of guys internally that have done that for us before," Daniels said. Texas still has two former All-Star closers on their roster, though Joakim Soria and Neftali Feliz both had ligament replacement surgery in 2012. Feliz was a closer before moving into the Rangers rotation in 2012, then getting hurt. Soria missed the enttire 2012 season for Kansas City before signing a two-year deal with Texas, and going 1-0 with a 3. Hombre Nike Air Max 2015. 80 ERA in 26 appearances this season after coming up in July. Felix is still rehabbing with the expectation to be in the bullpen next season. Tanner Scheppers was 6-2 with a 1.88 ERA in primarily an eighth-inning role this season. Alexi Ogando is another closer option, though Daniels indicated that its likely the right-hander would remain in the rotation rather than returning to the bullpen. Nathan missed the 2010 season with Minnesota following his own Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. In his return in 2011, he lost his job as closer early in the season before reclaiming it later and pitching well in the second half, saving 11 games and holding opposing batters to a .207 average. The Rangers signed him early that off-season, after their second consecutive World Series, a move that allowed them to move Felix into the rotation. "Joes been outstanding for us on and off the field," Daniels said. "Hes been as advertised." NOTES: Bobby Jones, the Rangers Triple-A manager the last three seasons, will be part of the major league coaching staff next season. Daniels said he wasnt sure yet if Jones would fill the vacant first-base coaching job of be the seventh coach on the staff. Jones has spent 26 seasons as a coach or manager in the organization, including stints on the Texas coaching staff under Johnny Oates (2000-01) and Buck Showalter (2006). 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