PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Seattle Mariners are taking on the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon in Goodyear, Ariz. It's the first road game for the Mariners on the Cactus League schedule and multiple regulars are playing, including Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor,  and Julio Rodriguez as they continue to ramp up for the World Baseball Classic.

Two guys we have yet to see are the newly-acquired Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder, who are both expected to be major parts of Seattle's lineup in 2026.

Both players were seen taking live at-bats on Saturday, with Donovan hitting against both Luis Castillo and Kade Anderson. Manager Dan Wilson says the plan is to get them into game action in the next few days.

"Next few days I think we'll start to see them get into games, and making sure they're all lined up and ready to go physically, and I think we're excited to get them into the lineup pretty soon here in the next few days. and see how it goes. These guys are veterans. They know what they need to get done, and it's going to start here in the next couple days."

As for key reliever Matt Brash, he's continuing to work back from a dental procedure, as was noted by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times on social media:

Matt Brash had a tooth removed last week and there have been some issues since then. Face was pretty swollen and he's been home for a few days recovering. He popped in yesterday to check with the training staff and looked to be very uncomfortable

Brash is one of the M's most valuable relievers, so its disappointing to see him off to a slower spring start, but there's no reason to be concerned about why we haven't seen him yet.

The Mariners will play the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday afternoon.

--Left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Diaz is headed to the World Baseball Classic, where he'll play for Team Venezuela. He's a replacement for the injured Pablo Lopez, who is out for the season with Tommy John surgery.

--The M's signed Mitch Garver to a minor league deal earlier this week. He spoke with Foul Territory TV about his decision to return and what led to it. He's battling with Andrew Knizner for the backup catcher job. 

--Andres Munoz's decreased velocity on his slider was a topic at the end of 2025. After hitting mostly 84 mph with that pitch on Saturday, Dan Wilson was asked about where he wants to see it ultimately land in 2026.

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