Mariners targeting June return for Charlie Furbush, says GM Dipoto
May 19, 2016, 4:44 PM | Updated: May 21, 2016, 1:46 pm
Mariners lefty reliever Charlie Furbush is working back from shoulder issues that sidelined him last year. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners bullpen was in rough shape last weekend, with a pair of poor outings by Steve Cishek and Joel Peralta each bring back to light a lack of depth caused by a plague of injuries.
The worst may be over, however.
In Thursday’s 7-2 win over Baltimore, the Mariners got their first inning of work out of Joaquin Benoit since he came off the disabled list earlier in the week, and later in the day Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto shared positive news on 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” regarding the timeline for veteran lefty Charlie Furbush’s return.
“Right now, if all goes well, we’re targeting the first week of June as a potential return,” Dipoto said.
Jim Moore: Mariners proving they can stay in the race all season
He still expressed caution about Furbush, who hasn’t pitched in a game for the Mariners since July 7 of last year due to shoulder issues.
“As we’ve said from the beginning, we’re just trying to go day-by-day,” said Dipoto.
Before Furbush can return, he’s set to throw a live BP session to Triple-A hitters in Tacoma on Friday, then will head to the Mariners’ spring training facility in Peoria, Ariz., “to work on his innings progression,” according to Dipoto.
Seattle could also get back Tony Zych, who hit the DL with a shoulder problem of his own earlier this month, sooner rather than later. Dipoto said the 25-year-old righty is “actively in his throwing plan,” though he thwill need multiple rehab appearances in the minors before the Mariners will bring him back to the big club.
That wasn’t the case with the 38-year-old Benoit, who returned from the DL without going on a rehab assignment. Dipoto said that likely contributed to his shaky outing on Thursday in which he allowed a run on a hit and two walks against the Orioles.
“It’s been a month since he threw in a big-league game, and we did not throw him out there on a rehab assignment, so the fact that he struggled with his command wasn’t entirely shocking,” Dipoto said. “I was just glad to see velocity and some action on his changeup, and frankly glad to see he was able to wiggle his way out that jam in the eighth inning.”
The Mariners also received positive results from Cishek and the rest of their relievers in the Baltimore series, as the bullpen allowed just two runs in 10 innings of work over the three games.
“Sometimes with the bullpen it’s feast or famine,” Dipoto said.”You know, we feasted for a while and we were starving over the weekend. We can eat again.”
