Mariners call up reliever ahead of big series vs Texas

The Seattle Mariners have set their bullpen up a little better ahead of perhaps their biggest series of the season so far.

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Right-handed relief pitcher Cody Bolton has been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, with rookie starter Emerson Hancock optioned back to the Rainiers in the corresponding move announced Friday morning.

Hancock returning to Tacoma is no surprise as the M’s starting rotation remains at full strength. He was added to Seattle’s taxi squad earlier this week and activated Thursday to make a spot start against the Chicago White Sox, allowing the Mariners to push everybody in their rotation back a day. That means Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert – Seattle’s three most veteran starters – will take the mound for the American League West-leading Mariners (40-31) this weekend against the second-place Texas Rangers (33-35).

Though the Mariners lost 2-1 in 10 innings on Thursday night, they got a terrific effort out of the 25-year-old Hancock, who held the cellar-dwelling White Sox to two runs on six hits and two walks with one strikeout over seven innings.

It was the fourth quality start this season from Hancock, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. He started seven games earlier in the season for the M’s with Bryan Woo beginning the year on the injured list. On the year, Hancock is 3-3 and owns a 4.79 ERA and 1.282 WHIP over 41 1/3 innings for the Mariners, with 24 strikeouts to 13 walks.

Bolton, also 25, returns for his second stint up with the M’s this season. He began the year on the big league roster, spent the minimum 15 days on the injured list for a general medical issue in April, and was optioned to Triple-A on May 23.

In 15 appearances for the Mariners in 2024, Bolton owns a 4.41 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 14 strikeouts to eight walks over 16 1/3 innings. With Tacoma, Bolton hasn’t allowed a run in nine appearances, giving up just three hits while striking out eight, walking two and logging a save over 8 2/3 innings.

Seattle acquired Bolton, a 2017 sixth-round draft pick, in an offseason trade with Pittsburgh for cash last November. He made his MLB debut in 2023, appearing in 17 games for the Pirates.

The Mariners open their series at T-Mobile Park against the Rangers at 7:10 p.m. Friday, with radio coverage on Seattle Sports starting at 6 p.m. with the pregame show. The television broadcast will be on the Apple TV+ subscription streaming service. Click here for details on how to stream Mariners Radio Network broadcasts for free from Seattle Sports.

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