Mariners provide discouraging update on key injured reliever

As April comes to a close, many a Mariners fan thought that we were going to see Matt Brash soon with the team. He was expected to make a return around the end of April or the beginning of May. Up until Justin Hollander's press conference on the 27th, we all thought that was still the plan.

Was the plan. Mariners General Manager took to the mics to let us know that it was no longer the case, as Matt Brash had experienced a setback.

It's been taking Brash a while to feel himself after each outing. Normally, it takes a while to ramp back up, and that's expected as you throw more and more and get deeper into your rehab session. It was seeming to go the other way with Brash, as it was taking longer and longer to get back to feeling normal after each outing.

The Mariners, as they have been with both Brash and Santos, are being as cautious as possible. It's why Brash has been shut down, and will be going back to the doctor to get checked out more to see what is going on, and likely get some imaging done to see if there is anything going on inside of his arm.

It's bad news, as we were starting to get excited to see him back. With the further emergence of Gabe Speier and Ryne Stanek's addition to the team, it was easy to start thinking about just how dangerous this bullpen could be. We have to hope that it isn't going to be too bad of news when it comes to Brash, but it isn't looking good as of now.

We will have more news as it comes out, but don't hold your breath. For now, the Mariners will look to continue with the pen as is, awaiting the return of either Brash or Santos to see who comes in first to, hopefully, help them improve and further push towards playoff contention.