The Seattle Braves and Atlanta Braves have found themselves in an unusual situation.
It involves Austin Nola, the veteran catcher who is the brother of Phillies ace Aaron Nola.
Austin Nola signed with the Braves already this offseason on a minor-league contract.
But now Nola will be coaching for the Mariners instead of playing for the Braves.
This is how USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the news on Tuesday night:
"Catcher Austin Nola, who signed a minor-league contact this winter with Atlanta, has been granted his release to become the Seattle Mariners’ new bullpen coach."
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While no official announcement has been made, this serves as a de facto retirement for Nola.
He chose to move into a coaching role instead of pursuing the playing position he currently had. That doesn't sound like someone who will retake the field in a game anytime soon.
It's a cool pickup for the Mariners, who get a catcher who was just actively in the league to help guide their bullpen.
Seattle knows what catchers are like as coaches. Their manager, Dan Wilson, was a very good catcher for the Mariners.
The Mariners are looking for all the boosts they can get. They were a single run away from advancing to the first World Series in franchise history.
Instead, Seattle had heartbreak in ALCS Game 7.
Now, the Mariners have a few crucial free agent decisions to consider. But before getting those taken care of, Seattle has added a new coach, one who was just a player, in one of the more curious transactions of the offseason.
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- Nationals on verge of major MacKenzie Gore trade decision
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