The Seattle Mariners sit in first place in the American League West, carrying a 22-17 record. That is despite dealing with a slew of injuries to key players, including starting pitcher George Kirby.
Kirby has been dealing with a right shoulder injury that has kept him from making his 2025 season debut. But that trend is likely coming to an end.
The Mariners’ star pitcher completed his second rehab start with Triple-A Tacoma over the weekend. He threw 54 pitches, 36 of which were strikes, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five batters. But the stats are not all that relevant. The fact that he has ramped up his work has him on pace to make his debut toward the end of May.
Kirby’s fastball reached upwards of 97 miles per hour, according to MLB.com.
The Mariners intend to send the 27-year-old righty onto another rehab start before rejoining the big club.
Since joining the big leagues, Kirby is 35-26 with a solid 3.43 ERA and a 7.6 K/BB ratio.
Mariners Getting Healthy
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Not only has Seattle been without Kirby for the entire season, but equally talented starter Logan Gilbert has also been on the shelf.
Gilbert was placed on the IL with an elbow injury at the end of April. Before going down, he looked like a legit ace. Gilbert was 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA and 0.79 WHIP, striking out 44 batters to just six walks.
Mariners right fielder Luke Raley was also placed on the injury list recently with an oblique strain. But he has not done much for Seattle at the plate this season, so that is not much of a loss.
All-Star outfielder Julio Rodriguez is off to a slow start as well this season, hitting just .228. Newly acquired Randy Arozarena has not fared much better, hitting .237 at the dish.
Despite the offensive struggles and the injured rotation, the Mariners have managed to position themselves atop the division.
With both Kirby and Gilbert nearing a return, Seattle may be able to put even more distance between itself and the rest of the AL West.
