TODAY: The Mariners made the move official, selecting Woo’s contract and placing Gonzales on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain. To clear room for Woo on the 40-man roster, right-hander Easton McGee was transferred to the 60-day IL.
June 2: The Mariners are calling up pitching prospect Bryan Woo to start tomorrow’s game against the Rangers, tweets Corey Brock of the Athletic. Left-hander Marco Gonzales was slated to start but has been scratched with a forearm issue. It seems likely he’ll hit the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move, though that hasn’t yet been announced.
Woo, 23, is in the majors for the first time. A sixth round pick in 2021 out of Cal Poly, Woo has significantly elevated his stock in pro ball. He posted huge strikeout numbers in the low minors last season, cementing himself as one of the better prospects in the Seattle farm system. Baseball America slotted Woo seventh among M’s prospects over the offseason, praising his three-pitch arsenal and athleticism.
BA suggests Woo could settle in as a back-of-the-rotation starter at his peak. Keith Law of the Athletic credited Woo with mid-rotation upside but suggested spotty command could eventually push him towards a relief role. He’ll break into the big leagues as a starter, making the jump directly past Triple-A in the process.
The right-hander has made nine starts for Double-A Arkansas on the season. He’s posted a brilliant 2.05 ERA through 44 innings with an excellent 34% strikeout rate. Woo has kept his free passes to a 7% clip, a particularly promising development considering the strike-throwing questions some evaluators expressed over the winter.
Seattle has already gotten strong results from one rookie righty this season. Bryce Miller has excelled through six starts, adding an exciting complement to their already fantastic trio of Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. Gonzales has had a tougher go as the fifth starter, posting a 5.22 ERA over 50 innings.
While Gonzales has never missed many bats, he’s posted solid back-of-the-rotation numbers for the bulk of his Seattle tenure. He’s an excellent strike-thrower and has typically been durable. He missed around a month during the 2021 season with a forearm strain, however, and he’s again battling forearm issues. The extent of the injury is to be determined, as Brock notes he’s headed for further evaluation.
Chris Flexen filled in the rotation earlier this season. He struggled and was moved to the bullpen and fared much better in long relief. Flexen hasn’t pitched in four days and could’ve been an option to take a spot start in Gonzales’ stead, but the M’s have elected to dip into their farm system for one of their most talented young arms.
Woo won’t reach a full year of service time even if he’s up for good. He’ll be controllable through at least 2029 and wouldn’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2025 season at the earliest. Additional minor league assignments could push that timeline back.
The Mariners will need to formally add him to the 40-man roster tomorrow. Seattle is technically at capacity but could move either of Dylan Moore or Robbie Ray to the 60-day injured list without issue. Moore has already spent more than two months on the shelf; Ray is out for the season.
Woo hoo!
If only Ronnie Woo Woo was a Mariners fan…
Blur song when he takes the mound
Or Steely Dan?
@sufferforsnakes No that would be Dr. Wu (no relation)..and he sounds like he would be a bad influence on the youngster. 😉
My body is burning like the lava from Mauna Loa
My heart is breaking like Krakatoa
You ready dude? I’m keeping score today from the recliner. Excited to watch the kid!
Who is Woo? “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
Holly crap, a new mantra for Seattle (Dr Seuss)
This is a sad day for this site when idiotic “woo hoo” is number one…
Whooooaaaaa
Oh no! Texas lost tomorrow’s game today.
Cue Ric Flair.
I was thinking the same thing
Woooooooo!!!
This guy needs to play in Pittsburgh. The Wooers would love him. I often watch on TV and PNC early in the season is far from filled. You always hear Wooo echoing threw the empty stadium. Once one woos another answers with another woo!
Guy’s gonna destroy MLB batters. Probably throws a complete game no hitter tonight. 25 Ks.
On 77 pitches
You were close on pitch count! Old York… not so much.
Even as a Rangers fan, you feel sorry for a dude that gets hammered like that in a debut.
This didn’t age well 🙁
I have envisioned a future Mariners rotation of Castillo-Gilbert-Kirby-Miller-Woo since the offseason….
But I was anticipating that in 2024 or 2025.
I know a lot of fans look at Marco’s ERA and think he’s bad, but he’s only had 3 bad starts (2 were really bad) and Seattle still won 2 of them. He’s been a solid number 5 starter. If he needs Tommy John surgery, which would be his second, his career as a Mariner is likely finished. He has one more year on his contract, but he would obviously spend all or most of 2024 rehabbing.
As excited as I am to see Woo, I really hope Marco’s issue isn’t as bad as it sounds, and if it is, that he can recover quickly.
This Woo fella is supposed to be the real deal. We shall see.
We will find out mighty quick, I believe. Maybe even tomorrow.
And he is probably as good as Stevil said earlier.
Do you think Bryan Woo is Ric Flair’s favorite player?
That’s what Flair has been saying all along.
Given the direction taken, It might have done well to have traded Margo for another bat now it looks more like he will walk, not unlike Ray.
Meeeeeean, by gawd, Gene! Wooooooooooo!!!
Woo’s on first?
What did his family say when they got the call?
Katie Woo is pumped.
WOO HOO!
White Sox will work out a trade for him.
With Woo, Hahn will crack open a Corona and have Dr Fauci toss out another spastic first pitch.
Mental illness
Dipoto has been very good at pitching acquisitions. The right brain, and the left need to get together so we can have a better hitting lineup though he doesn’t appear to be himself a switch hitter on the matter. Back to the batting cage.
Bryan is now accepting tickets to Space Mountain
To be the man….. WHOOOOOOO
They are going to lift the ghost runner rule because Bryan can go…..
ALL NIGHT LONG!
WOOOOOOO!
Seattle Mariners are temporary, but Woo-Tang is forever.
I realize he’s getting shelled at the moment but Woo has moments where he looks good. I can see why he gets so many strikeouts, tons of horizontal break on the breaking pitches. I hope he gets a longer look than just this game. He just keeps catching too much of the plate with his fastball, AA hitters might miss that but Corey Seager and Semien are not going to. Really tough offense to make your debut against.
Woo! That was a terrible outing yesterday. Hope he bounces back for his next start.