Willie MacIver was claimed off waivers by the Mariners and assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.
One of the better players in the recent history of the Washington Huskies baseball team will be making his way back to the Pacific Northwest.
The Seattle Mariners baseball team claimed former Huskies catcher Willie MacIver off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. He was assigned to the 40-man roster and was assigned to the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers.
MacIver's stint with Seattle marks the latest move in a series of them since becoming a professional for the former Washington backstop.
MacIver was selected in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Since then, he's also been with the Athletics and the Texas Rangers.
The catcher made his major league debut in 2025 with the A's. He played in 33 games, received 102 at-bats and slashed .186/.252/.324 with a .576 OPS and hit five doubles and three home runs with nine RBIs.
The latest roster transaction by the Mariners gives them more catching depth in the organization if they feel the need to bring up a third catcher when rosters expand at the beginning of September, or an emergency option if one of their major league backstops deals with injury. Currently, the team's starter is Cal Raleigh and their backup is another Athletics alumni, Jhonny Pereda. The team's highest-ranked catching prospects, Boston Smith and Luke Stevenson, are with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers and High-A Everett AquaSox, respectively.
MacIver was with Washington for three seasons from 2016-18 before being selected in the draft by the Rockies. In his trio of years in the Pacific Northwest, MacIver slashed .272/.349/.365 in 123 games and hit 18 doubles, two triples and five home runs with 58 RBIs.
In his three years with the Huskies, MacIver made the NCAA tournament twice (2016, 18) and was a part of the roster that made the only College World Series in program history in '18.
Seattle is currently in the thick of a playoff hunt. After a 10-5 loss against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, the Mariners are 5.5 games out of first place in the American League West and 4.5 games out of the final wild card spot in the American League.
As for MacIver, if Seattle is keen on keeping him within the organization for depth at the top levels of the organization, he could remain in Tacoma after this season and have another opportunity to make somewhat of an impact in the PNW.
