Seattle Mariners' Lefty Seeming Unlikely to Return This Season as Team Pushes For Playoff Spot

The Seattle Mariners are increasingly unlikely to get Marco Gonzales back this season, it appears.

The Seattle Mariners are red-hot. They've won seven consecutive games and have pulled to within 1.5 games of the third and final wild card spot in the American League. 

But the news isn't all good, as it appears that veteran lefty Marco Gonzales might not be able to be a part of the playoff push.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

GM Justin Hollander said Tuesday that Gonzales (forearm), who was recently transferred to the 60-day injured list, is running out of time to pitch again in 2023, the team's official site reports.

ANALYSIS
Per Hollander, the nerve issue that led to Gonzales' initial placement on the IL back on June 3 persists, and that's preventing the left-hander from beginning any type of ramp-up activity. Hollander remarked "the clock is ticking on that" when asked about Gonzales' chances of returning this season, noting the veteran would need an extensive amount of time to build his arm strength back up once he's finally cleared to begin a throwing program.

That's big news for multiple reasons.

1) Gonzales has been a valued member of the rotation for years and has been one of the more reliable arms in the American League since coming to Seattle.

Since arriving in Seattle in 2017, he's gone 61-47 for the M's with a 4.08 ERA. He's made 25 or more starts in each full season since 2018. He went 7-2 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

2) The Mariners are dealing with multiple young arms that they want to be careful with. Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock have all been called up this year. The total number of innings thrown will rise, as will the stress of those innings. The team undoubtedly wants to be careful with their innings and having Gonzales back would have allowed them to do that.

The Mariners take on the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at 10:10 p.m. ET.

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