In the biggest Seattle coaching news of the day, the Mariners have brought in Hisashi Iwakuma as a Special Assignment Coach.
I don’t know what that is. Sounds pretty made up.
According to the club, Iwakuma will start his new gig during Spring Training and report directly to Jerry Dipoto. The most important part seems to be the specifics of this role, which involves working “with Mariners pitchers and pitching instructors at all levels” and the ability to “periodically visit the team’s minor league affiliates during the season”. Another interesting note stated that Kuma will do some scouting in Japan with Manabu Noto, the scout who helped the Mariners sign Yusei Kikuchi.