Mariners injury updates as of May 9th, 2025: Good news on multiple fronts
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - As we have reported all season, our Seattle Mariners have dealt with their (un)fair share of injuries a few months into their 2025 campaign. If you would have told me that the Mariners would be in first place in mid-may without George Kirby throwing a pitch and Logan Gilbert on the injured list, I would have laughed you out of the stadium. But as it turns out, that is the case. Seattle is currently without three members of the starting lineup, but have found themselves as a top five offense. The Mariners have won nine series in a row and have the second best record in the American League, and could certainly get some reinforcements when some of the players throughout their organization return to full health.
Mariners General Manager Justin Hollander gave some injury updates around the organization, as he always does before the first game of a homestand. We will start with the good news, as starter Logan Gilbert has already been throwing and will throw again today as he tries to work back from a mild (grade 1) flexor strain in his throwing arm. If everything goes well for him, Gilbert could throw off of a mound during the Mariners next series when the New York Yankees come to town. The organization is taking a cautious approach with Gilbert and will not rush him back obviously, given his importance to the ballclub and their approach to try and keep their rotation as healthy as possible. Gilbert was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with that “grade one” flexor strain in his throwing arm, and thankfully extensive imaging done showed no structural damage, but elbow injuries to pitchers are always scary. While Hollander did not say it, Logan seems to be ahead of schedule in his return as he was originally slated to not throw for two weeks. However, Logan began throwing a few series’ ago when the Mariners were in Texas for that road series against the Rangers. He will still be out for at least a few weeks, but as of now, this is a “best case” scenario for both Gilbert and the Mariners.
News on another starter, as George Kirby is continuing his rehab assignment with the Tacoma Rainiers for at least another appearance. He started last Sunday’s game for the Rainiers and threw three innings, giving up just one run on one hit. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Kirby will make his second rehab start for the Rainiers tomorrow (May 10th) and will make at least one more start in Tacoma as he didn’t have a full Spring Training. Because of that lack of a true pre-season build up, the Mariners will want him to get some extra time to ramp up and be ready for a full work load. Hollander said the plan for Kirby is to pitch tomorrow and one more start before they assess if he is ready to make his 2025 debut. Kirby felt “great” after that first rehab outing with Tacoma per Hollander, and the organization liked what they saw from his stuff and velocity in his pitches, so it appears that things are going well in terms of George’s progress.
“He will start tomorrow for Tacoma. He will need probably one more start not for pitch count reasons but he did not have a Spring Training. So the idea of going out there and not having experienced a lot of things that he would experience over a typical Spring Training and building up, not just the ability to go throw 75 or 90 pitches in the outing, but then how that makes you feel to be able to repeat it the next time five days later is important.”
Flame throwing reliever Matt Brash is officially back with the ball club and has already pitched in two games since being activated. Brash had Tommy John Surgery last Spring and missed all of the 2024 season. Hollander said that they will still be cautious with him moving forward, likely not pitching him in back-to-back games and not throwing multiple innings in an outing as they work him back up to the sort of reliever he’s been previously. Brash came back at just the right time for the Mariners, as they placed reliever Trent Thornton on the injured list with appendicitis earlier today. Thornton will be out for a few weeks, and has said that he’s already feeling better plus itching to get throwing again, but there is no clear timetable for him to resume throwing. Hollander did mention that Seattle avoided an even worse situation with Thornton considering he was able to get surgery when he did, but he will still miss potentially three weeks per what the Mariners general manager said.
Relievers Jackson Kowar and Trevor Gott are on the same path recovers from the same injuries, and both of them had Tommy John Surgery last season which forced them to miss the 2024 campaign. Hollander had glowing remarks when talking about what they’ve seen from Kowar as he’s returned to throwing, who will report to the Rainiers today as will Gott. The plan for Kowar is to pitch him on a regular schedule out of the bullpen for the duration of May because he has missed so much time over the past 15 or so months, and he didn’t have a regular Spring Training, putting him in the same boat as Kirby and the next reliever mentioned. Gott will be in action this weekend in Tacoma, as he also continues to work back from his rehab of TJ and will need to be built up considering his lack of a Spring Training. Gott is not currently on the 40-man roster, but look for him to get called up sometime this summer if things continue to go well for him. With the sort of usage that Seattle has had out of their bullpen already on the 2025 season, any sort of reinforcements or fresh arms will help the Mariners through the summer.
“He’s going great and his stuff looks awesome. Again, he will pitch out of the bullpen on sort of a regular schedule for the duration of May before we talk about an activation time, he is on the 60-day injured list anyway. He’s doing great, had very few speed bumps along the way, and I feel really good about where his stuff is and where his endurance is at. Super excited.”
Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles can be seen in the teams dugout wearing a sling but with a beaming smile on his face since suffering that brutal shoulder injury during the first few weeks of the 2025 season. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Outfielder Victor Robles will have a CT scan on his fractured left shoulder at the six week mark of his recovery (around May 19th) that will determine what the next steps are for him in his recovery after his heroic leaping catch during the teams first road series of the season down in San Francisco. He was in an immobilized cast the last few weeks but was in the clubhouse today with no cast on at all, which is a good sign. If everything goes well for Victor and the CT scan shows that the injury is continuing to heal, he then can start the strengthening process. When he was placed on the injured list, Hollander said that this will likely be a 12-week process. He will need about six weeks to gain his strength and mobility back in the shoulder. Optimistically, he could be back around the All-Star break for Seattle.
Outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley was placed on the injured list with an oblique injury during the last home stand, as he was hurt on a swing during early batting practice, as he will likely be out at least six weeks with the injury. Hollander said that Luke’s last few days have shown positive progression, but oblique injuries take time. He will head down to Arizona to rehab when the Mariners hit the road next week to continue working his way back from the ailment.
In more reliever news, Gregory Santos had surgery on his knee last week in which Hollander described a “clean up” of the cartilage in his right knee. The Mariners will be cautions not to rush him back as they do not want to risk re-injury, and given that Santos has had to deal with a number of different physical issues during his tenure with Seattle. Hollander said that Santos could be back around the All-Star break, which is different than last homestand when he said the expectation was that Gregory could be back with the big league club at “some point” during the season. Reliever Tayler Saucedo, currently with AAA Tacoma, was placed on the injured list with a strained LAT in his left side recently. Hollander said that Sauce avoided a “really bad outcome” but will be down for at least a couple of weeks. Once he feels good, he will start a throwing program but the good news is he avoided a serious injury.
On the minor league side of things, Hollander provided a few different updates but largely on a number of pitchers that are working their way back from different injuries. RHP Taylor Dollard threw two innings in the Arizona Fall League earlier this week, and he will throw two more times down in Arizona in the next week or two before he is activated and sent to a minor league affiliate. Dollard has not pitched in the minor leagues in over two years, but look for him to return to the minors sometime between May 15-25th in a positive development considering that he’s missed a ton of time due to injury over the past few years. RHP Teddy McGraw is throwing again and should be activated and sent to a minor league affiliate by the end of the month. McGraw has had a rough road in his career, as he’s dealt with injuries for a long time, but his stuff is top-tier when he is on the mound. Veteran reliever Zach Pop, having signed with the Mariners back on April 16th which is 14 days after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays, is starting to throw live batting practices this week and is projected to be with the Rainiers by the end of this month. Minor league outfielder Cade Marlowe, placed on the 60-day injured list back on March 22nd, is scheduled to return late in the second half from his back procedure, which Hollander classified as a microdiscectomy, around August or September. The return timeline for LHP Brandon Schaeffer, placed on the 60-day injured list back on March 18th, was not readily available from Hollander at the time.
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