Mariners’ Dipoto shares great news about injured starting pitchers

May 2, 2025, 10:52 AM | Updated: 11:32 am

Editor, Seattle Sports

The injury bug hit the Seattle Mariners hard in April, but May could see their fortunes turn around – particularly for their starting pitchers.

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Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto joined MLB Network’s MLB Now on Friday morning, and he gave a very encouraging update on the two most notable players on Seattle’s injured list right now.

Dipoto said the Mariners could see both 2023 All-Star George Kirby and 2024 All-Star Logan Gilbert return to the rotation in May.

“We’re hopeful that we’re gonna see both this month, which is a little better we had thought initially,” Dipoto said at the end of his conversation with host Brian Kenny.

Kirby has not pitched yet this season, as he was shut down during spring training with right shoulder inflammation. The 27-year-old right-hander threw live batting practice at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Monday, and M’s general manager Justin Hollander said Wednesday that Kirby was on track to begin a rehab assignment in the minor leagues this weekend.

Dipoto estimated that Kirby will need “at least two minor league starts, perhaps three,” before he can make his season debut with the Mariners.

Dipoto said that Gilbert, who will turn 28 on Monday, is a “little behind” Kirby in his rehab track. Gilbert came out of his start on April 25 after three perfect innings and was placed on the 15-day injured list the following day with a right elbow flexor strain.

“We think they’re both gonna return sometime before the end of May if everything goes the way it is currently,” Dipoto said.

Gilbert is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA, 0.791 WHIP and 44 strikeouts to six walks over six starts and 30 1/3 innings in 2025. Last year, he went 9-12 with a 3.23 ERA, and led MLB in both innings pitched (208 2/3) and WHIP (0.887) on his way to finishing sixth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

Kirby went 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.068 WHIP over 191 innings in 2024. He led MLB in walks per nine innings in both 2023 (0.9) and 2024 (1.1), and strikeouts to walk ratio also in 2023 (9.05) and 2024 (7.78).

With Kirby and Gilbert out of action, Emerson Hancock and rookie Logan Evans have filled their spots in the rotation.

Hancock, who in 2020 became the third straight right-handed starter out of college picked in the first round of the MLB Draft by Seattle (following Gilbert in 2018 and Kirby in 2019), has a 6.62 ERA in four starts this season, but he has posted quality starts in each of his last two outings.

Evans, a 23-year-old righty who Seattle drafted in the 12th round in 2023, allowed two runs on two hits and three walks over five innings to earn the win in his MLB debut last Sunday against the Miami Marlins.

The AL West-leading Mariners (18-12) begin a six-game road trip at 5:05 p.m. Friday against the Texas Rangers. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports begins at 4 p.m. with the pregame show.