Seattle Mariners' New Bullpen Arm Will Start Season on Injured List

The Seattle Mariners acquired reliever Gregory Santos this offseason to help solidify the back end of the bullpen and instead he'll be starting the year on the injured list.

Seattle Mariners' reliever Gregory Santos will start the year on the injured list after he suffered a setback in recovery from a lat issue.

Per Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710:

Gregory Santos was scratched from a bullpen yesterday after feeling a pinch in his lat area. MRI reveals a mild lat strain. He will not be ready for opening day.

Gregory Santos was scratched from a bullpen yesterday after feeling a pinch in his lat area. MRI reveals a mild lat strain. He will not be ready for opening day.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) March 12, 2024

Santos had been slowed by a lat issue and now he'll officially hit the shelf in another tough blow for Seattle's bullpen. The Mariners acquired Santos from the Chicago White Sox this spring in a deal for a bevy of minor leaguers and hoped that he would pair with Andres Munoz and Matt Brash to make a great back-end of the 'pen, but now both Brash and Santos will start the year on the injured list.

The 24-year-old Santos made his major league debut in 2021 with the San Francisco Giants. He's 2-4 with a 4.00 ERA at the major league level. He had five saves last season, ending the year as the White Sox closer.

In their absences, the Mariners' bullpen is now up in the air. It would appear that Munoz, Gabe Speier, Tayler Saucedo, Austin Voth and Trent Thornton all have spots secured, but the rest are undecided. Hard-throwing Carlos Vargas, acquired this offseason as well, may factor into the mix now.

The Mariners went 88-74 and missed the playoffs by 1.0 game last season. They are working to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

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