Mariners player suddenly becomes a coach at 30
The Mariners signed Jacob Nottingham to a minor league contract on Sunday, according to his transactions page on MLB.com . The 30-year-old catcher was in camp with the Mariners a year ago, but he played only 17 games in the minor leagues and none in the majors.
Turns out, that was the last chapter of Nottingham’s playing career.
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According to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Nottingham will become a coach for the Mariners this year, effectively signaling his retirement at age 30.
Nottingham played 54 career games at the MLB level, slashing .184/.277/.421 across 130 plate appearances. He had not appeared in a big league game since 2021, but had bounced around the minor leagues ever since.
Nottingham bounced from the Baltimore Orioles , to the Mariners, to the San Francisco Giants , to the Washington Nationals , and back to the Mariners from 2022-25.
The Mariners previously announced their major – and minor -league coaching staffs for 2026. Nottingham might not be in uniform in Seattle , or one of their minor league affiliates on a full-time basis this year, but teams routinely add special assistants to their staffs who bounce around the organization as needed.
It’s a full-circle moment for the catcher, who was a Top 100 prospect in baseball in 2016, and changed teams twice before reaching the majors with the Brewers in 2021.
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