Good, Bad, and Ugly: Logan Gilbert Injury, Offensive Eruption Headline Mariners First 2 Games vs. Marlins
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Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert delivers a pitch against the Clevland Guardians at Progressive Field in June 2021. Credit: Erik Drost [/caption]
The Seattle Mariners are no strangers to following up a loss with a win, but there may not have been two games that had different vibes than the first two of the three-game set against the Miami Marlins.
The Mariners followed an 8-4 loss Friday with their most complete victory of the season; a 14-0 throttling of Miami to even the series at a game a piece.
Let’s look at the good, bad and ugly from those two contests.
Ugly: Logan Gilbert Heads to Injured List
Gilbert was excellent in the three innings of his start Friday, allowing just a hit and three strikeouts without giving up a run. Unfortunately, his velocity was noticeably down, and he left that contest with what was first described as forearm tightness and later was confirmed to be a flexor tendon strain that resulted in him being placed on the injured list.The “good” news is that the Mariners are saying the strain is mild, and Gilbert told reporters that he’s already feeling better a day later. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested the team believes Gilbert can be back by the end of May.
The bad news is that the Mariners — and every other MLB team — say a lot of things regarding injuries. As someone who writes about injuries for a living for NBC Sports/Rotoworld, I’ve seen a lot of flexor strains. They typically require a much longer absence than that. And simply put, no matter if it’s just a 30-day absence, losing Gilbert is a loss that cannot be understated. He’s become the ace of the staff, and while there’s an intriguing replacement — more on that later — losing him for at least a handful of outings is a big, big blow.
Potentially Good: Logan Evans Making MLB Debut
To replace Gilbert, the Mariners will give Logan Evans a chance in the rotation, and that chance begins Sunday against the Marlins. That’s (potentially) a soft landing, as Miami has one of the worst lineups on paper in the sport. Evans has compiled a 23/4 K/BB ratio with Tacoma and a 3.86 ERA over his five innings, and while his stuff pales in comparison to the other arms in the rotation, he has the command and deep enough arsenal to be successful. It could be fun.
Definitely good: Luis Castillo
After two shaky starts on the road, Castillo was finally back to looking like the version Mariners fans are accustomed to seeing Saturday night. He allowed just one hit, struck out five and blanked the Marlins over six innings. It’s worth noting this was Castillo’s first start with Cal Raleigh behind the plate in 2025, and with all due respect to Mitch Garver, there’s no denying that Raleigh is a better receiver. It’s also worth noting that Castillo has had good starts with Garver behind the plate, so let’s not go too crazy. All that being said, it was great to see Castillo shove again.
Good: Ben Williamson
Goodness gracious. I wrote an early article explaining why I thought Williamson could help. To say he’s exceeded expectations — albeit in a small sample size — is quite the understatement. He drove in four runs in the two-touchdown victory over the Fish, and he’s slashing .310/.356/.429 since being promoted.
That’s not sustainable, but Williamson has looked so comfortable at the plate you forget he’s a rookie facing MLB pitching for the first time, and his defense has been as advertised.
Bad: Position Players Pitching
It’s stupid, and the Mariners had to face Javier Sanoja for two innings. I hate it. It used to be kind of fun when it was something you saw every once in a while. The fact that they had to create rules to limit it should tell you how stupid it is. It’s really stupid.
Good: Jorge Polanco
What a difference a year makes. Even with an inability to swing from the right side, Polanco continues to rake. He hit a three-run homer in Friday’s loss, and he went deep twice Saturday — including going back-to-back with Julio Rodriguez to begin the game. Through 27 games last year, Polanco was hitting .159/.321/.261. Through the same sample this year, he’s at .354/.377/.708.
The Mariners needed a quality season from Polanco last year. There’s nothing they can do about it now but appreciate that he’s doing it, and then some, in 2025.
Good: A 90-Win Pace
The Mariners have played exactly 1/6 of their season and won 15 games. That puts them at exactly a 90-win pace. Sure, there’s a lot of baseball left to play, but if you can go 15-12 or better five more times, your chances of making the postseason are really, really good. Even that seems like an understatement. If the Mariners can continue at this pace for the next 83 percent of the season, they’re going to play in October. That’s fun to think about.
