Bryan Woo’s decision to forego his scheduled debut Wednesday gave the Mariners a slight concern. His forearm was imaged by Seattle. As general manager Justin Hollander informed reporters that the tests were “perfectly clean,” the team may exhale with ease after receiving the findings of the MRI (via the MLB.com injury tracker).
It appears Woo will be completely removed from the injured list. Next week, the right-hander might be back in the Seattle rotation, according to a tweet from Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Last night, the M’s quickly turned to left-hander Jonathan Diaz. This evening, Bryce Miller was given the ball, and Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and Logan Gilbert are expected to pitch through Saturday. On Sunday, Woo’s position in the rotation would be reopened. Diaz would be placed on a regular rest schedule, and the M’s currently have right-hander Emerson Hancock on their taxi squad in case a pinch start is needed.
The news regarding Woo is a huge boost, even though the Mariners will need an outing from Hancock to get through the next five days. Due to discomfort in his elbow, the second-year pitcher began the season on the injured list. (He also missed two weeks of the summer due to inflammation in his forearm.)
Woo made a successful comeback in mid-May and has made six starts. Over 33 and a third innings, he has given up 1.07 earned runs per nine. Woo strikes out with a rate of 20.2%, which is around average. Out of the 119 batters he has faced, he has only walked two, demonstrating excellent control. In what is perhaps the strongest major league rotation in Seattle, Woo is the designated fifth starter. Hancock has taken the ball seven times, making him the M’s best depth option. With a 5.24 ERA in 34 1/3 innings pitched, the former #6 overall choice has struggled while striking out 15.4% of opponents.
