The Seattle Mariners boasted the best and one of the most durable starting rotations in baseball last season, with their top five pitchers combining for 149 of the team’s 162 starts. This season has been a different story.
Top veteran has been sidelined since spring training due to shoulder inflammation. Logan Gilbert has been on the injured list since April 26 with an elbow flexor strain. And most recently, Bryce Miller was placed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.
Because of these setbacks, Seattle’s top five starters have managed only 31 of the team’s first 42 starts.
How big of a concern are these injuries for the Mariners? Sports injury expert Will Carroll, author of multiple books on the subject, weighed in during an appearance on Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports.
“Let’s be clear — losing 60% of your projected rotation is never good,” Carroll said. “There’s really no sugarcoating that. But the upside is that these are all relatively minor injuries. And credit goes to the Mariners’ medical staff for catching them early enough to avoid more serious damage.”
As Carroll pointed out, the silver lining for the Mariners is that all three injured starters appear to be on track for relatively quick returns.
George Kirby is scheduled to make his third rehab start with Triple-A Tacoma on Friday. Logan Gilbert threw his first bullpen session earlier this week, and after Bryce Miller’s MRI showed no structural damage, the team is hopeful his stay on the injured list will be brief.
“Kirby is very, very close to being ready,” Carroll said. “Logan Gilbert will likely begin a rehab assignment right around the time Kirby returns. As for Miller, elbow inflammation can sometimes be tricky when you’re treating the symptoms without knowing the cause — but from everything I’ve heard, that’s not the situation here. The Mariners’ staff seems to know exactly what they’re dealing with and how to treat it.”
“Injuries are inevitable over a long season,” Carroll added, “but keeping them from turning into major issues is a credit to the medical staff — and the Mariners deserve recognition for that.”