5:44PM: Ray suffered a Grade 1 strain, Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters (including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer). The team’s plan is to shut Ray down for two weeks and then re-evaluate after that period of daily treatment, with a rough timeline of 4-6 weeks until Ray’s eventual return from the IL. Ray told media that he began to develop some flexor pain during the second inning of yesterday’s game.
3:24PM: Left-hander Robbie Ray has been placed on the Mariners’ 15-day injured list due to a left flexor strain. Southpaw Gabe Speier was called up from Triple-A to take Ray’s spot on the active roster.
Ray made his season debut last night and only lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks. Even with Ray’s history of control issues, the five walks is probably the biggest indicator that something wasn’t quite right with Ray, and he threw 91 pitches over his 3 1/3 frames of work. The Mariners have yet to publicly comment on the severity of Ray’s injury or a possible return timeline, but it would certainly seem like he’ll miss more than the minimum 15 days just out of pure caution in dealing with injuries in the forearm or elbow area.
After Ray won the AL Cy Young Award as a member of the Blue Jays in 2021, Seattle inked him to a five-year, $115MM free agent contract in the following offseason. Ray’s first season as a Mariner wasn’t up to the level of his 2021 performance but it was still solid, as the southpaw posted a 3.71 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and a slightly below-average 8% walk rate. Ray continued to allow a lot of hard contact, but that has been the norm throughout his MLB career.
Just three days into the 2023 season, the Mariners have already had to deal a notable rotation injury, after getting through 2022 with a remarkable run of health from its starters. While the M’s have four off-days between today and April 25, the construction of their schedule means they will need a fifth starter in Ray’s absence, though Seattle has a very qualified replacement in Chris Flexen. Trade rumors swirled around Flexen (and Marco Gonzales) for much of the offseason, though the Mariners’ decision to hang onto their starting depth is now looking wise in hindsight, especially if Ray is facing any kind of extended absence.
Speier is now set to make his first appearance in a Seattle uniform, after being claimed off waivers from the Royals last November. Speier is also the only left-handed pitcher in a bullpen stacked with right-handed relievers, so Speier’s inclusion will add some balance to the relief mix. A veteran of four MLB seasons, Speier has a 3.83 ERA over 40 career innings with the Royals, appearing in rather sporadic fashion for Kansas City since making his debut in the Show in 2019.
At least it wasn’t his teres major.
Tight pants though
In a season like this, we should just call up Bryce Miller instead. Oh well.
We don’t need a starter. Flex just jumps back into the rotation for now
Yeah, good point. I’m fine with just letting Flexen take the rotation spot. He did pitch 17 innings over 5 games in spring so he’s likely stretched out enough.
Mya2- I’m a little unsure of the RPer to take Flexen’s place in the BP. In other words I’m not confident that Flexen’s replacement will be as good in that mop up/long relief role. The thing about Flexen…
He is a really good reliable 4th or 5th SP. He has shown an ability to be a 2 WAR player with a ceiling of 3 maybe 3.5 WAR. How many rotations in Baseball can pluck a guy out of the BP/Minor Lgs with that type of proven success? Only a handful of contenders.
Tbh I think Flexen is undervalued because SPers with his velocity/stuff are unfairly compared to SPers who shove the ball harder. Flex knows the art of pitching. Young fireballers like B Miller might miss more bats but they still have yet to learn the skill of reading the swings of ML hitters on the biggest stage. I for one am relieved we made the sensible decision to keep Flexen (and Marco) on the roster.
@Ayrbhoy
Matt Brash will probably take over Flexen’s role as long reliever.
I highly doubt Brash’s role is changing.
ayrbhoy- Definitely. I posted my immediate reaction without thinking through the options.
Myaccount
Then who do you see replacing Flexen?
Speier or Festa. Brash is too valuable in his role.
A strain is still torn tissue. Flexor strain could be pretty bad. Just wait and see what happens.
Flexen last year had a 2.2 era against Houston. I don’t think they will call up Miller for at least 6 weeks so his service clock doesn’t start. this is what Paxton kept experiencing and even when he came back he just was never back to normal ♂️
Except Robbie Ray is not made of glass like Paxton. The day Paxton picked up a baseball he’s had an injury track record the length of the Great Wall of China! All 13,000 + miles of it!
I suspect the cold weather played a part in Robbie’s injury. As much as I love MLB they need to either play less games or schedule more dbl headers so they can start later in the year. So much of the Country is frigid this time of year. Baseball players shouldn’t have to wear balaclavas!
There is zero comparison between Paxton and Ray- one is a horse the other is a broken dish waiting to be epoxied.
Throw the f’ing ball, Robbie!
Guess keeping Flexen was a good idea after all
he does add flexibility!
Maybe this explains why he pitched so bad yesterday.
I wonder if someone will move up to become a starter now?
Brash, maybe?
He was missing up. Which he never does.
True, SODOMOJO, and I got a feeling pretty soon that something was wrong.
Well, there will be more story to come and we will learn some things from that.
Was at the game last night behind home plate. He was noticeably uncomfortable and stressed. After throwing nine straight balls, we were wondering about the yips. He gets a lot of undue criticism in Seattle after the Alvarez HR. I like him and the investment. Really tired of fans dumping on him. All that seemed to be on his mind last night as he was struggling. Hopefully he gets a little rest and comes back soon.
Good grief! Dude needs to grow a sac! Not crawl into a corner in a fetal position. Jiminy Christmas!
What I mean is, sad though it would be, this may be the beginning of the end for Robbie Ray.
That is how the bad decline starts for a guy who already had a few control issues pushing him to try even harder.
I hope not, but I guess time will tell.
This website is acting funny. It wants to show this comment twice.
Good grief.
Beginning of the end? don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a bit?
Yes, Winslow Leach, I did jump the gun.
I came on here to say that, and I found your comment.
I panicked before even finding out that it is a grade 1 strain, which is not so scary.
I need to find a middle ground, I think.
These things happen. Especially coming out of SP. The cold air might have something to do with it.
Now the same thing is happening to Gilbert on Saturday night in the second inning of game 3, throwing way too many pitches.
Egad.
no worries, everyone is having a problem with the comment clock
Actually, you’re probably right. Game over.
Starting pitchers regularly get injured right after spring training?
Highly paid milquetoast starting pitchers do…
Good riddance, the team is better without him.
At Trivial Pursuit?
Good riddance. MLBTR is better without you.
LOUD GRUNT!!!
What a terrible signing that turned out to be.
I dunno know about that. He was good the last 2 years.
The Mariners have had him for just one year. He was okay, not good.
Leach,
I disagree, 3.71 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 212 SO aren’t too shabby. The average ERA is 4.00 and average WHIP is 1.30. Besides is high ERA he was very good, not great for the Mariners.
He was average. 100 ERA-, 108 FIP-, 1.8fWAR. Solidly average.
It has been a good signing thus far and this injury doesn’t appear to be serious. Early season, everyone rushes to push the panic button
Not a good signing at all. The guy is making $21 million to put up league average production last season, while having almost four more seasons and almost $100 million left on the contract. It is a very bad signing when accounting for the dollars and years for a 3 starter, at best.
Above average. I recommend recalibrating what you think an annual salary of 21 million gets on the free agent market. This isn’t 2017
Average still doesn’t make $21 million a year, nor does average get $100+ million contract. His contract goes up this season and next season. His $21 million was last year’s salary and was also the 14th highest paid pitcher. Is he the 14th best pitcher in baseball? He is overpaid in terms of years and dollar value.
He was the Cy Young Winner in 2021 and he was above average in basically every pitching category last year. I do not understand why you keep using that word to describe him. Top MLB pitchers are now getting 40+ mil on the free agent market. Carlos Rodon is a pretty good comp and he just signed a deal making 28 mil annually, which is more than Ray will make during any year of his contract.
I think you are both undervaluing Ray’s contributions and also have an outdated view on the current going rate of free agent SPs
I have never seen so many “strains” in my life. This is absolutely insane the way these players are getting hurt nonstop. The injury list in all of baseball is crazy.
It’s all the new work out regimes. Everyone’s too fit
Why advisory role back in our daaaaasys…
Robbie has been such a liability, i think we have a better team without him. Instead i will take a half year of Flexen and then Miller in the second half and into the playoffs. Best case scenario honestly.
What? What?
Or stretch out Brash for the 2nd half and bring Miller into the pen. They have a number of many options. Hancock is ready too, so is Dollard
Hancock and Dollard aren’t ready, though Miller probably is. However, for now they have an experienced Major League starter, Flexen – and they really like what Brash is doing in the bullpen. (I do hope he gets a chance to be a starter later, but it will probably not be this year.)
He gave Seattle 189 innings and 212 Ks last year, and projects well.
He isn’t an ace, and the HR he coughed up to Álvarez stung. But calling him a liability is simply inaccurate.
He is being paid like an ace and performing like a 3. He put up an ERA+ of 100 last season. Very bad signing.
He is paid as an ace and you hold your breath everytime he pitches in a pressure situation. He is an inning eater not a $100+M pitcher. Flexen offers the same attributes for a fraction of the cost, and actually keeps hitters off balance much better. If the team doesn’t chase, like the Indians, he struggles. The splitter would help him but didn’t throw one in his start.
I look at Verlander, Scherzer, and deGrom as examples of what ace free agents make.
Seattle didn’t likely sign him believing they were getting an ace, their projections likely had him as a solid number 2, which is fair given his history of IPs and Ks.
Comparing him to Flexen is apples & oranges, but Flexen made some changes this offseason that might help him miss more bats.
“Flexen offers the same attributes for a fraction of the cost”.
Tell us when Flexen had 200+ SO in a season. Tell us when Flexen had a WHIP of 1.16 in a season. Ray has struck out 200+ 5x’s in his career. Something Flexen will never do. Ray is performing like a borderline #1 while Flexen will be no better than a #4 or #5 starter.
Does Seattle have a #1?
It’s laughable to compare Flexen and his pathetic 6.2 career k/9 and 1.44 WHIP to Robbie Ray, one of the top 40 starters in baseball. This guy is similar to Dakota Hudson, a borderline major league starter who for some reason is loved by his team’s fan base.
1.8 fwar is not a borderline #1.
Was cold last night he should have been wearing sleeves…
Pitchers need to be taught to pitch not just max effort all the time.
@Old York
It’s easier to hit something going 90 mph than 100 mph.
NoSaint Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Jamie Moyer and countless others show that you can have success PITCHING when you actually KNOW how to PITCH & not just trying to throw as hard as you can.
That is baseball of the past, in today’s game it’s ALL about how hard you can throw. You know it’s that when they talk about how a pitcher loses velocity because they dropped from 94-91 mph.
Warren Spahn led the NL in CG for seven straight years. From age 36-42. And his totals were in the 20s and 30s. All after he lost his best fastball..
Many times, there is more movement on a pitch at 90, than at 100. Its easier to hit a fastball with no movement.
Guys if you havent noticed…Robbie cant pitch in cold weather..They are just doing this so he doesnt have to pitch in 40 to 50 degree weather..Its not really a strain.
If that’s the case he’s on the wrong team. It’s often cold in Seattle.
It’s not cold on all road trips…
So, the Mariners have an accurate forecast for the next 2-8 weeks that would make them willing to waste a 20m± player, because they think he might not pitch well in cooler climate?
Why even sign him if that was a concern, and how do you explain his 3 quality starts last April?
its a long season…robbie missing 2 to 3 starts isnt that big of a deal especially so early in the season.
Ive lost Weight before and also lowered my body fat percentage..i did this while on the east coast where ot was warmer then washington…and when i came home it was a huge shift.. i freeze all the time now
Missing games because of an injury is one thing. Suggesting the team is faking an injury to intentionally sit an important player is another.
Does the T stand for Teletubbie, K?
I love a good conspiracy theory, but only for amusement purposes.
Hopefully he’s back and pitching against the Astros, they destroy him
Doesnt really matter if the Mariners dont score any runs like tonight they wont win anyway. I know it has been only 3 games but 7 run for 3 games isnt great. I just wished they would have spent some money on a real high level hitter this off season, Tommy LaStella as the dh just wont do it.
Yes, small sample size, but it is not an encouraging start for the offense. They had the opportunity to move Crawford off of SS and throw enough silly money at one of the FA shortstops this winter to convince one to sign. Adding Wong and Teoscar probably wasn’t near enough… I hope more of the M’s will start hitting soon, or it won’t be pretty. I don’t think Seattle improved this winter as much as the Angels (and maybe Texas) did.
Look around the league. There’s plenty of top players who are struggling. Mookie betts hitting under .200, Bregman doesn’t even have a single hit, and there are plenty others. It’s been 3 games. Let’s talk about the world being on fire when we’re about 50 games in
@Latino Heat-Ahhhhhhg were 3 or 4 games into the season. Let’s pump the brakes on these small sample size’s as examples
Reading is hard. That’s exactly what I said. Did you miss the part where I said let’s wait 50 games til we decide the world is on fire? You should really read someone’s post before you try to comment on it
Joe Strain.
Tough break
So Ray won’t be back in may?
It could be any day. Or he could just…. fade away…
“3 comments are hidden because you muted the comment authors”
Heh heh heh heh.
HEH HEH HEH HEH!
Wow. Just…wow.