Injury Update: When Mariners expect back 2 pitchers who missed 2024

Feb 19, 2025, 3:20 PM | Updated: 4:09 pm

Editor, Seattle Sports

There were two pitchers the Seattle Mariners expected to have in their bullpen in 2024 who didn’t make it through spring training.

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Both Matt Brash and Jackson Kowar missed all of last season after suffering UCL injuries and undergoing Tommy John surgery. But 2025 is shaping up to be a different story for the two hard-throwing relievers.

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander had positive updates on the two promising relievers when he joined The Hot Stove on Seattle Sports in a conversation that aired Tuesday night.

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Brash underwent Tommy John surgery last May, and it appears his recovery from the procedure has been on the faster end of the usual timetable of 12-18 months.

Asked when Brash could return to the mound in Mariners games, Hollander said the right-hander is on track to pitch before he turns 27 years old in May.

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“Realistically, probably late-ish April. Nothing exacted on the calendar, but he’s done great all throughout this process,” Hollander said. “Our rehab people, his surgeon couldn’t be happier with the progress he’s made from really the day he had the surgery until today.

“He’s not really had any significant setbacks. He’s sort of trucked along as you would hope through this process, has felt great every step along the way, and I do think it’s realistic that you’ll see him pitching in major league games by the time April ends.”

Brash, who is known for a devastating slider in addition to a fastball that can hit 100 mph, led all of baseball in 2023 with 78 appearances out of the bullpen. He finished the season – his first full year as a reliever – with a 3.06 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .242 opposing batting average, 24 holds, four saves, and 107 strikeouts to 29 walks over 70 2/3 innings.

Good news with Jackson Kowar

The 28-year-old Kowar was a 2018 first-round MLB Draft pick by the Kansas City Royals, but he never realized his potential as a starter with the Royals. He landed with the Atlanta Braves in November 2023 and was dealt to the Mariners just weeks later in the trade that sent Jarred Kelenic and Marco Gonzales to the National League, and proceeded to have an impressive spring training as a reliever with the M’s until he tore his UCL last March.

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Kowar’s UCL surgery wasn’t as easy of a procedure as Brash’s, but he’s still on track to pitch early in the 2025 season according to Hollander.

“Jackson’s doing great. He had a a full ligament reconstruction, unlike Matt who had the brace inserted, so it’s a little more significant a recovery,” Hollander said. “But he is tracking to to be in major league games toward the early part of the season, something like late May we think is realistic.

“He was awesome last spring. We’re really excited about the steps he had made in the early part of camp. Obviously the velocity is something he’s always had, but the shape on the fastball was really playing, and he’s always had a dynamic changeup and that was really electric last spring. Hopefully there’s no setbacks in his recovery as we get into games in the spring and we’re seeing Jackson back in games sometime in late May.”

Hear the full Hot Stove conversation with Seattle Mariners general manager Justin Hollander in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.