Mariners Rumors: Seattle is not seeking outside help after George Kirby injury

The Seattle Mariners were dealt a big blow on Friday, as the team announced that right-hander George Kirby will likely start the 2025 season on the injured list because of shoulder inflammation. However, don't expect the team to make a move for outside help in response.

As part of a report on the sudden wave of pitching injuries around MLB, Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic note that there are teams seeking help for their rotations. Yet the Mariners are not one of them, thereby indicating that the team is comfortable using in-house options to fill Kirby's spot in the starting rotation.

Here's what Mariners fans need to know about the situation.

It is not surprising that the Mariners are not panicking

Kirby's injury isn't the only wake-up call that Seattle's rotation has gotten this spring. It's been a rough one for starters not named Bryan Woo, as Luis Castillo has only fanned four batters in eight innings and Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller are both saddled with 6.75 ERAs.

We are nonetheless talking about the same rotation that led MLB in seemingly every major category in 2024, including ERA, innings, and WHIP. It was a true group effort, as each of the four pitchers mentioned above and Kirby gave the Mariners 22-plus starts' worth of solid pitching.

The Mariners are therefore better equipped than most to lose a starter, and Kirby may not even be gone that long. An MRI on his shoulder found no structural damage, allowing for the possibility that he won't be on the IL for long, if he even is placed there in the first place.

The first man up to fill in for Kirby is Emerson Hancock. He has yet to live up to his billing as the No. 6 pick from the 2020 draft, yet he has a new pitch and has struck out nine of the 27 batters he's faced this spring.

What do other teams' injuries mean for the Mariners?

According to Rosenthal and Mooney, it's the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles who are actively seeking starting pitching help. The former has a solid rotation, whereas the latter just lost Grayson Rodriguez to a sore triceps.

Elsewhere in the American League East, the New York Yankees have already lost reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil for roughly three months. They may also lose 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery.

Given all this, it would be fair to expect someone to mention the Mariners as a potential source of help. Castillo was popular in trade rumors during the winter, after all, and Gilbert, Miller and Woo have occasionally had their names pop up in trade speculation.

Yet no such mentions exist right now, at least not via the mouths or fingertips of reputable insiders. This is not exactly surprising, and not just because the Mariners are down a pitcher in their own right. There's also the obvious reality that this team is a contender, and a darn good one at that.

The Mariners' outlook could change if their 2025 season takes an unexpected turn for the worse. For now, though, it seems as if rival teams know better than to ask if any of Seattle's aces is for sale.