Seattle Mariners to Promote Top Prospect to Cover For Injured Veteran

The Seattle Mariners have placed starting pitcher Marco Gonzales on the injured list with a forearm issue and promoted their No. 6 prospect, Bryan Woo, from Double-A.

The Seattle Mariners are getting a starting rotation shakeup due to injury.

The team has placed veteran left-hander Marco Gonzales on the injured list with a forearm issue and has promoted No. 6 prospect Bryan Woo from Double-A Arkansas.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times had the information on Twitter:

Marco Gonzales is having tests on his left forearm back in Seattle. Bryan Woo will start tomorrow.

— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) June 2, 2023

Divish added that Gonzales felt the issue following his last start and didn't feel great in the bullpen, either.

He's 4-1 this season with a 5.22 ERA. While his overall numbers don't look great, he's been one of the more dependable pitchers in baseball over the last several years. 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.

As for Woo, he's the No. 6 prospect in the organization. Here's more on him from his MLB.com prospect profile:

After rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, Woo wowed in his debut season with Seattle in 2022, becoming one of the most coveted trade targets in the organization. And it’s been the more progressive teams that are making those calls.

A starter and reliever at Cal Poly, Woo sat at 95 mph with his fastball last year but touched 99 mph with excellent ride, missing bats at a slightly lower release point. All said, it helps the rest of his stuff play. The slider is also a really solid pitch, albeit less impactful than the heater. He’s begun to throw it slightly harder as he’s gotten more reps and distanced himself from surgery.

Woo only had 69 1/3 innings of college experience, then just 57 innings last year, but he was among the standouts in the Arizona Fall League. He possesses a solid delivery and is athletic enough, but there are times where he can be scattered with location, though it’s possible that could be chalked up to early stages of development and coming back from elbow surgery.

The Mariners open up a series with the Rangers on Friday night at 8:05 p.m. ET and Woo's start will come on Saturday.

The Rangers own the best offense in the sport.

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