SEATTLE – With Logan Gilbert on the brink of returning from the injured list, the Seattle Mariners were on the verge of having each of their top five starters in the rotation for the first time this season.
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But then came another setback for Bryce Miller, who landed back on the IL earlier this week.
Such is life for the injury-riddled 2025 Mariners.
Here’s the latest on Gilbert and Miller, according to updates that general manager Justin Hollander provided Friday afternoon ahead of the Mariners’ series opener against the Cleveland Guardians.
• Logan Gilbert threw a bullpen session at T-Mobile Park shortly after Hollander spoke to the media. That bullpen likely represents the final hurdle in Gilbert’s rehab process. Hollander said that if Gilbert came out of the bullpen in good shape, his next start would likely be with the Mariners.
Based on a roster move that Seattle made shortly after Gilbert’s bullpen, it would appear that things went well. The Mariners called up reliever Zach Pop from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned starter Logan Evans back to Tacoma, which seems to signal that Gilbert is on track to replace Evans’ spot in the rotation next week.
Gilbert has been on the IL since April 26 with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. The 28-year-old right-hander had a strong third rehab start with Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday night, tossing scoreless innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts and only one walk.
“Logan feels really good about where he’s at right now,” Hollander said. “… We should have a better idea after today’s bullpen when he’s gonna get plugged into the rotation. But felt great coming out (of Tuesday). Everything looks like Logan Gilbert in terms of the pitch shapes and velocity and all that.
“So really excited about how Logan has felt after each outing and the volume he’s been able to build up.”
• Bryce Miller, who has a bone spur in his pitching elbow, received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Tuesday after returning to the IL with another bout of elbow inflammation. Miller will be shut down from throwing for two weeks before building back up. Hollander said he could return in four to six weeks if all goes well, with the timeframe likely closer to the six-week range.
Miller initially landed on the IL in mid-May and received a cortisone shot in his elbow, but it wasn’t as effective as the team had hoped. Miller returned to make a pair of starts on May 31 and June 6, but allowed eight runs and 12 hits in nine innings over the two outings.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Hollander said. “Obviously, the cortisone didn’t work the way we hoped. Hopefully the PRP does.”
Hollander said elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister and Mariners doctors agreed the PRP injection was a better route than surgery.
“The conversations about surgery or no surgery, that’s between the player and the doctor,” Hollander said. “The Mariners don’t really get involved in that. The order of operation is Bryce sees our doctors and they make a recommendation, … and then they tell us what they decide.
“So in Dr. Meister’s estimation, and in our doctors’ estimation, the PRP was the better way to go.”
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