Mariners must ready the Kade Anderson bat signal after Bryan Woo injury remark

Because the Seattle Mariners pulled off a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday, that Bryan Woo got lifted after throwing just 75 pitches initially felt like an "all's well that ends well" thing. Except he was apparently pitching through shoulder discomfort, for which the only silver lining is that it could potentially herald Kade Anderson's call to The Show.

It read like a footnote in the aftermath of a series victory the Mariners badly needed, and Woo himself told the media (including MLB.com's Daniel Kramer) that his shoulder discomfort is "nothing I'm concerned about." Since he hit 97 mph on his final fastball of the night, maybe he's right.

But who remembers the pectoral soreness that forced Woo out of a start in Houston last September? Well, that was also supposed to be nothing major, yet he was sidelined for nearly a month, and was only able to return as a reliever in two of the last three games of the ALCS.

More broadly, there has been a pattern this year of Mariners players downplaying injuries to the detriment of themselves and the team. Even at its best, it's been frustrating. At its worst, it has resulted in Cal Raleigh, Luke Raley and Colt Emerson struggling as they played through pain that was worse than they let on.

Kade Anderson is more than ready to step in if the Mariners need to take care of Bryan Woo

To be clear, we're not saying Woo is more hurt than he's letting on. Or even that that the Mariners should take precautions either way. If he must go on the IL or move to the bullpen for the remainder of the year, so be it. For now, though, either is a bridge to cross when the Mariners come to it.

Yet if ever there was a time to have Anderson on standby, this is clearly it.

There isn't really a question whether the Mariners' No. 1 prospect has earned a promotion to the big leagues. He has a 1.06 ERA in 18 starts for Double-A Arkansas, and he's currently on a scoreless streak that dates back to July 3.

At this point, maintaining Anderson's rookie and PPI eligibility for 2027 is no longer a concern. And while the LSU alum hasn't yet been exposed to Triple-A pitching, Jerry Dipoto has a track record of not caring about that where top pitching prospects are concerned.

What Dipoto does care about is not moving Anderson to the bullpen, which he thinks would sidetrack the 22-year-old lefty's development. It's hardly an indefensible position, though it has raised the question of how his 2026 ETA can be realized while the big league rotation has five good starters.

Well, if an injury to Woo doesn't do the trick, there's always the possibility that someone else could move to the pen in deference to Anderson. A 6.12 ERA over six starts has thinned the ice under Bryce Miller's feet. With 128 innings on his arm, the Mariners could also potentially divert Emerson Hancock's path to setting a new career high for innings. And who knows? Maybe the Mariners will simply revert to a six-man rotation.

For the time being, the only thing to do vis-à-vis Anderson is the same thing we've been doing. It's somewhere between waiting patiently and waiting impatiently, with fingers crossed that the team's playoff odds are still alive by the time he arrives.

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