Mariners injury news: Gregory Santos, Andres Munoz, and Gabe Speier
The Mariners have worked magic in their bullpen, but are going to have their hardest job yet with more injuries hitting their big arms
The Mariners have been struck by in the injury bug once again, and in the place where they were already thin. Another blow has been dealt to their bullpen, taking what was an already thin part of the team and making it even worse. Before getting into that injury, let's take a look at all the Mariners injury news and updates that have been happening recently.
Mariners injury news: Gabe Speier
Gabe Speier had looked a bit off for a good part of the 2024 season, and now we know the reason why. He went on the IL retroactive to May 30th with a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder. That could've been palying a part in his command issues that he was showing this year, walking hitters three times as often as last season (5.5/9 to 1.8/9). Speier had been unlucky this year with a FIP of 3.44 and an ERA of 6.06, but hopefully the time off isn't too serious and gets him back on track.
Mariners injury news: Gregory Santos
If you were paying attention pre-game when the Mariners got to Oakland, you might've seen someone in that weird bullpen of theirs that you haven't noticed before. Gregory Santos was throwing from the pen, and reportedly felt good while doing so. Adam Jude reported that he was getting up to about 80-90% effort, and still touching 94 mph while doing so. Still set to come back in July from his Lat injury, it's great progress and news for a Seattle bullpen that is quickly thinning out.
Mariners injury news: Andres Munoz
The big news, and the news that seemed to have the worst potential, was surrounding Andres Munoz. He went down in the first game of the Oakland series after trying to cover home plate after a wild pitch. He threw one warm-up pitch, and would leave the game after instantly signaling to the trainer that he wasn't able to continue. Apparently, Munoz has been dealing with a lower back strain since the second game of the season, and falling to the ground made it worse.
However, it sounds like he is going to avoid an IL stint, which is fantastic news. Still, expect Munoz to be on the shelf for the next few games as they let him heal back up and give his body some time to rest and recover. With Speier being out for a while, knowing that Munoz should be back soon as well as Santos coming back in July, things look a lot better for the Mariners bullpen then we felt about it watching Munoz go do in Game One.