Mariners Roster Moves: Woo off IL, Hancock’s season done
Aug 22, 2023, 1:59 PM | Updated: 1:59 pm
Emerson Hancock of the Seattle Mariners pitches on Aug. 20, 2023. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)
(Bob Levey/Getty Images)
The Seattle Mariners get one promising rookie back for their playoff push while another is done for the season.
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The Mariners made five roster moves on Tuesday, and all involved pitching.
The good news for the Mariners is that Bryan Woo is back after an injured list stint due to right forearm inflammation. The rookie right-hander has a 4.75 ERA in 11 career starts and will start for Seattle on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.
Emerson Hancock, however, is done for the season as he was transferred to the 60-day injured list due to a shoulder strain. Hancock left his last start – the third start of his career – in Houston on Sunday after just two innings and was placed on the 15-day injured list on Monday. Hancock has had a few shoulder issues since the Mariners drafted him in 2020.
By moving to the 60-day IL, that means Hancock will not be returning this year or in the postseason. It also takes him off the Mariners’ 40-man roster.
With there being an open 40-man roster spot, the Mariners signed right-handed pitcher Luke Weaver to a one-year deal and added him to the MLB roster. The Mariners claimed Weaver off waivers last offseason but non-tendered him soon after. He has a career 5.16 ERA and a 6.87 ERA in 21 games for the Cincinnati Reds this year.
Hancock’s season ending also dampens the Mariners’ plans to shift to a six-man rotation consisting of Woo, Hancock, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller. But it should be noted that all 21 of Weaver’s appearances in 2023 have been starts.
To make room for both Woo and Weaver on the 26-man roster, Darren McCaughan and Eduard Bazardo were both demoted to Triple-A Tacoma. Both pitched Monday in the Mariners’ blowout win over the White Sox.
McCaughan has spent most of the last few years in Tacoma with a few brieft stints with the Mariners. Bazardo was traded to the Mariners from Baltimore at the MLB Trade Deadline earlier this month.
The Mariners take on the White Sox in the second game of a three-game set on Tuesday. Pregame coverage begins at 4 p.m. on Seattle Sports and first pitch is at 5:10.
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