This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer¡¯s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE -- Dan Wilson joked at the MLB Winter Meetings last week that, while he can¡¯t wait for his first Spring Training as Mariners manager, his increasingly favorite pastime in Arizona -- regularly running with Tucker, the team dog -- might be more difficult given his looming demands.

¡°There's a lot to do, no question, but we will be ready,¡± Wilson said. ¡°That's the stuff to me that's exciting. You start thinking about why you're doing things and the purpose behind things and the message you want to send. So I think those are the things that we're starting to tackle now as a staff.¡±

Wilson¡¯s first offseason on the job has largely been tied up in sorting out his coaching staff, which was finalized just before Thanksgiving and headlined by Edgar Martinez¡¯s enhanced role as senior director of hitting strategy and the hiring of longtime Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer to the same role in Seattle.

The ambiguity surrounding Martinez¡¯s role, even with a new title and subordinates, seemingly remains, based on commentary last week from Wilson and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander. But it¡¯s clear that the Mariners hope Martinez is as involved as possible.

¡°I think when you understand that passion, I know he's going to be around a lot,¡± Wilson said. ¡°I think that his passion for the guys, his relationships that he's built, he wants to be there as much as possible. So I expect he's going to be around there a lot. You can't build those relationships if you're not around.¡±

Seitzer, who played in the same era as Wilson and Martinez and came on their radar as such when he was let go by the Braves in October after 10 years, obviously will have a more defined role.

¡°We wanted, especially, someone that had some experience, but also someone that would be a good extension of what ¡®Gar¡¯ talks about,¡± Wilson said. ¡°Just in the conversations that we had with Kevin, his idea of line-to-line hitting and using the middle of the field also is something that really resonated with us.¡±

With coaching hires out of the way, Wilson¡¯s focus has shifted to connecting with players and mapping out the logistics of spring.

¡°I knew once we got to the Winter Meetings, things were going to accelerate pretty quickly,¡± Wilson said. ¡°It feels like, in some ways, you get your nose above water and then the pool gets a lot deeper suddenly. But it¡¯s just something that you kind of have to learn on the fly and experience. I feel like we¡¯re getting to a point where we¡¯re getting things a little bit more settled and starting to sort of look forward to what¡¯s coming next year.¡±

On the final day of the Meetings, Wilson trekked roughly two hours to meet Bryce Miller halfway between Dallas and Miller¡¯s hometown of New Braunfels, Texas, where he¡¯s spending his offseason. Wilson has spoken with J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodr¨ªguez, Cal Raleigh and more, as well.

Wilson is also already planning on what he wants to say to the team on the first day of camp. But as for roster building, he¡¯s left that exclusively in the domain of Dipoto and Hollander, preferring not to elaborate on Seattle¡¯s specific needs.

¡°For me, it's really looking at the guys that we have,¡± Wilson said, ¡°and I love the guys that we have -- the players and the pitching staff. We talk a lot about the pitching. We talk a lot about the defense. ... So we'll see. We'll see who the personnel are. Right now, with the guys that we¡¯ve got, I feel very confident going forward with what we have and the players in place, and we'll just keep grinding and make adjustments as we go.¡±

Wilson was asked if there¡¯s been a self-reflection period, given that he was thrust into the role with no prior managerial experience when he took over for Scott Servais on Aug. 23. The Mariners went 23-11 under Wilson but fell short of the postseason by one game (excluding tiebreakers).

¡°I don't think anything has changed in my mind about this club,¡± Wilson said. ¡°I know that they can do what they need to do to get themselves to a World Series. I think this is a team that wants to get there. ... To me, it's not that it's been a perspective change; it's just been more of a verification of what we saw at the end of the year.¡±