The Mariners were dealt a bit of a scare yesterday when Bryan Woo was scratched from his scheduled start. Seattle sent him for imaging on his forearm. The team can breathe a sigh of relief after the MRI results came back, as general manager Justin Hollander told reporters that the tests were “perfectly clean” (via the MLB.com injury tracker).
It looks as if Woo will avoid the injured list entirely. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that the right-hander could retake his spot in the Seattle rotation next week. The M’s turned to left-hander Jhonathan Diaz on short notice last night. Bryce Miller took the ball this evening, while Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are on track to pitch through Saturday. Woo’s spot in the rotation would come back up on Sunday. Diaz would be on regular rest, while the M’s are now carrying right-hander Emerson Hancock on their taxi squad in case he’s needed for a spot start.
Even if the Mariners need an outing from Hancock to get through the next few days, the news on Woo is a major boost. The second-year hurler opened the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation. (He also missed two weeks last summer on account of forearm inflammation.) Woo returned in mid-May and has turned in brilliant results through six starts. He has allowed 1.07 earned runs per nine over 33 2/3 innings. Woo’s 20.2% strikeout rate is right around average. He has shown impeccable control, only walking two of the 119 hitters he’s faced.
Woo is the nominal fifth starter in a Seattle rotation that’s arguably the best in the majors. Hancock has been the M’s top depth option, taking the ball seven times. The former #6 overall pick has struggled to a 5.24 ERA in 34 1/3 frames, striking out 15.4% of opponents.
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