The Seattle Mariners recently came to an agreement with veteran catcher Jacob Nottingham, but according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, they don't plan on using him behind the plate: They plan on transitioning him to a coaching role.

Nottingham is actually converting to coaching. He signed a minor league deal as a player but he will coach. It is something they’ve done in the past

It's unclear as to what position the M's could be grooming Nottingham for, but they currently have former catcher Austin Nola as the bullpen coach, so there are multiple paths for a player to work in the organization.

Former players like Zack Vincej have also had success as minor league managers, so Nottingham's situation will be one to monitor.

Nottingham, 30, is a name familiar to M's fans. He's been signed and re-signed five times in less than five years and even played 10 games for the Mariners in 2021. In total, he's appeared in four major league seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and Mariners. He's a .184 hitter, but clearly his contributions are valuable beyond the playing field.

--Several Mariners are currently participating in the World Baseball Classic, which is being played in various locations around the world. Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela) and Dane Dunning (Korea) have already advanced to the elimination round. Rodriguez and Bazardo will finish up pool play against each other on Wednesday night.

Cal Raleigh (USA), Gabe Speier (USA), Josh Naylor (Canada), Michael Arroyo (Colombia), Guillo Zuniga (Colombia, Dom Canzone (Italy) and Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy) all have theoretical chances to advance.

Rodriguez spoke with MLB Network on Monday morning about playing for his country, what it means to him, and the cultural flare that comes with playing for the Dominican Republic. The DR is 3-0 after beating Israel on Monday afternoon.

--The M's have not named an Opening Day starter yet at this point, but it seems to be a battle between Bryan Woo and Logan Gilbert. Gilbert got the start in 2025 after Luis Castillo had earned the nod in both 2023 and 2024.

--George Kirby is now experimenting with calling some of his own pitches. This is something we will talk more about on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, set to be released on Tuesday morning.

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