Mariners Injury Updates: 3 nearing returns; McGee needs surgery

May 22, 2023, 6:00 PM

Easton McGee pitches for the Mariners at Toronto on April 29, 2023. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

(Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners are hopeful of getting three major contributors back from injuries in the next couple of weeks.

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Infielder Dylan Moore played in three games at Class A Everett and will move to Triple-A Tacoma to continue his rehab assignment later this week with the chance he will be activated during Seattle’s 10-game homestand, general manager Justin Hollander said Monday. Moore hasn’t played this season due to a core injury.

Relief pitchers Andrés Muñoz (deltoid strain) and Penn Murfee (elbow inflammation) both had platelet rich plasma injections and are improving, Hollander said. Both are hopeful of being ready sometime during Seattle’s next trip which begins June 2 in Texas.

That was the end of the good news for Seattle, as Hollander said the team believes pitcher Easton McGee will need Tommy John surgery after flirting with a no-hitter in his only start this season.

Hollander said there is some instability in the ulnar collateral ligament in McGee’s right elbow. Hollander said McGee’s elbow has not responded to treatment as hoped and that major surgery appears to be the likely course.

McGee was called up by Seattle on April 29 and started against Toronto that night. He threw 6 2/3 hitless innings before giving up a double to Matt Chapman for the Blue Jays’ first hit of the game.

It was just the second appearance in McGee’s career after pitching in one game for Tampa Bay late last season. He had made five starts at Triple-A Tacoma before getting called up to the Mariners.

Former first-round pick Evan White is also looking at a long recovery after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a tendon issue in his hip. Hollander said White, who won a Gold Glove for Seattle in 2020 but has been limited by injuries since, is likely to need at least three months of rehab before resuming baseball activities.