Important Seattle Mariners Reliever Scheduled For Rehab Outing as Injury Recovery Continues
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have 17 games left in the season and are still looking to make a final push for the playoffs. They are 4.5 games out of the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and 4.0 games out of the third AL Wild Card spot entering Wednesday.
The Mariners got some bad injury news on Tuesday when starting pitcher Luis Castillo was placed on the 15-day injured list and reliever Yimi Garcia was transferred to the 60-day IL.
But the baseball gods giveth and taketh.
The same day where Seattle General Manager Justin Hollander gave the news on Castillo and Garcia, he also provided positive news on another Mariners reliever — right-hander Gregory Santos.
Santos was placed on the 15-day IL with right biceps inflammation on Aug. 1 and made a surprise rehab outing with the organization's Triple-A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers on Sept. 6. Santos pitched one inning for Tacoma and faced four batters. He allowed one hit and struck out one batter.
96 to end a scoreless 8th inning by Gregory Santos. pic.twitter.com/NRzCumsSk1
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 7, 2024
Santos made another rehab appearance during the Rainiers' Pacific Coast League playoff game against the Oklahoma City Baseball Club on Tuesday. He walked two batters and struck out one in a single inning pitched. He helped induce an inning-ending double play that got him out of the jam created with the two walked batters.
Gregory Santos walks 2 batters but gets a double-play & a strikeout in a scoreless 6th inning. pic.twitter.com/blOoAAjdWZ
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 11, 2024
"(Gregory) Santos will continue his rehab assignment in Tacoma," Hollander said on Tuesday. " ... We just need to make sure we're building him up in a right way. Don't have a timeline except that he is progressing well. Felt good after his first outing. We'll see where it goes."
Obviously getting players healthy is a priority for the Mariners. But their top priority at this point is making sure their season extends into October.
If Santos were to make it back for the final series of the regular season and (possibly) the postseason, the back end of Seattle's bullpen would consist of solid rookie reliever Troy Taylor, Collin Snider (having a career year), 2024 All-Star Andres Munoz and Santos.
That would be the most ideal bullpen scenario for the Mariners during the most crucial time of the season, especially with Castillo unable to provide a boost from the starting rotation for at least a couple of weeks.
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