Gregory Santos

American League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

By Anthony Franco | November 21, 2025 at 4:22pm CDT

Every American League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the AL, while the National League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

The Angels announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Gustavo Campero and catcher Sebastian Rivero. Campero is a depth outfielder who has hit .202/.272/.346 over the past two seasons. Rivero operated as the club’s third catcher for most of the season but spent the final few weeks on the active roster. Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. All their arb-eligible players were easy calls to retain.
The Astros technically made one non-tender, dropping infielder Ramón Urías after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’d been projected at $4.4MM.
The Athletics officially non-tendered outfielder JJ Bleday, the club announced. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday, so this was inevitable unless they found a trade partner. Bleday had been projected at $2.2MM.
The only non-tenders for the Red Sox were first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and reliever Josh Winckowski, each of whom had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Lowe was projected at $13.5MM, while Winckowski was at $800K.
The Guardians non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan and relievers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright. The latter had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Hentges hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2024. He underwent a right knee procedure a few months ago and will be delayed this offseason. Brennan only appeared in six MLB games this year and underwent Tommy John surgery while in the minors in June. He’d been projected at $900K.
The Mariners non-tendered reliever Gregory Santos, reports Francys Romero. He’d only been projected at $800K, narrowly above the MLB minimum, so the move was about dropping him from the 40-man roster. Seattle acquired the 26-year-old righty from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He has only made 16 MLB appearances with a 5.02 earned run average over the past two years because of lat and knee injuries. Seattle also non-tendered relievers Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (the latter of whom was designated for assignment on Tuesday). Thornton had been projected at $2.5MM and is coming off a 4.68 ERA through 33 appearances. He suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in August.
The Orioles non-tendered swingman Albert Suárez, the team announced. Everyone else in their arbitration class was offered a contract, surprisingly including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Suárez, 36, was a solid depth starter in 2024. He was limited to five MLB appearances this past season by a flexor strain but is not expected to require surgery.
The Rangers non-tendered each of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. MLBTR covered those moves in greater detail.
The Rays only non-tendered outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley, each of whom had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays were open to bringing back Fraley at a lower price than his $3.6MM arbitration projection.
The Royals non-tendered outfielder MJ Melendez and reliever Taylor Clarke, per a club announcement. Melendez, who’d been projected at $2.65MM, was an obvious decision. The former top prospect never developed as hoped and is a career .215/.297/.388 hitter over parts of four seasons. Clarke isn’t as big a name but comes as the more surprising cut. He’d been projected at just $1.9MM and is coming off a 3.25 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate over 55 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
The Tigers are non-tendering utility player Andy Ibáñez, according to Romero. He’d been projected at $1.8MM. The righty-hitting Ibáñez had been a solid short-side platoon bat for Detroit between 2023-24. His production against southpaws dropped this year (.258/.311/.403), limiting his value. The Tigers optioned the 32-year-old to Triple-A in early June and kept him in the minors until shortly before the trade deadline. Detroit also dropped the six pitchers they’d designated for assignment earlier in the week: Tanner Rainey, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Mattison, Jason Foley, Jack Little and Sean Guenther.
The only Twins non-tender was outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who’d been designated for assignment this morning to make room for the Alex Jackson trade. Everyone in the arbitration class was brought back.
The White Sox non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, as first reported by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The lefty hitter turned in a solid .263/.356/.400 line in 93 games this past season. Tauchman has gotten on base at plus rates in three straight years but was also non-tendered by the Cubs a year ago. The 34-year-old (35 next month) had been projected for a $3.4MM salary. The Sox also announced they’ve dropped lefty reliever Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko. Neither had been eligible for arbitration. The former posted a 5.52 ERA in 39 appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox last winter, while the latter hit .134 in his first 23 MLB games despite a 26-homer season in Triple-A.
The Yankees announced five non-tenders. Relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Jake Cousins and Ian Hamilton were all cut loose, as was pre-arbitration righty Michael Arias. Leiter, who’d been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee. Hamilton, Effross and Cousins were all projected just above the MLB minimum but are cut to clear roster space. Hamilton was on and off the active roster and posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 big league frames this year. Effross was limited to 11 appearances and has been plagued by various injuries for the past three and a half years, while Cousins is working back from Tommy John surgery. Arias has never pitched in the big leagues and could be brought back on a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays tendered contracts to all unsigned players on the 40-man roster.

Mariners Select Samad Taylor, Place Dylan Moore On IL

By Darragh McDonald | April 29, 2025 at 3:55pm CDT

The Mariners announced that infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor has been selected to the roster. He will take the active roster spot of infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list. The IL placement, which is retroactive to April 26th, is due to right hip inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Taylor, right-hander Gregory Santos has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Moore has been out to a red-hot start this year, with a .286/.346/.557 line to this point while bouncing around to all four infield spots and right field. He earned American League Player of the Week honors for the week of April 14th to 20th. It seems this hip issue will put that on pause. He hasn’t played since Friday, which is why the M’s were able to backdate his IL placement. The club hasn’t provided any updates but it’s possible he could rejoin them in a week if he just needs a bit of rest.

For now, Taylor will come up and take his spot. Like Moore, he’s capable of bouncing around the diamond. In the big leagues, he has experience at second base, third base, center field and left field. He has also played some shortstop in the minors, though not this year.

Offensively, he has hit just .215/.288/.277 in his 74 big league plate appearances, but with much better numbers on the farm. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has stepped to the plate 1,392 times at the Triple-A level with a .277/.371/.427 line and 108 wRC+. That includes a strong .321/.389/.560 showing so far this year. Speed is also a big part of Taylor’s game. He has stolen at least 23 bases in each minor league season dating back to 2018, including 50 last year. He already has six so far in 2025.

He will presumably move around to various positions for the M’s, perhaps doing some pinch running as well. He still has an option remaining, so he could be easily sent back down to the minors if Moore gets healthy relatively quickly.

As for Santos, it was reported last week that he would be undergoing surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee. His exact timeline isn’t clear but this transfer to the 60-day IL indicates that the club expects him to be out beyond the middle of June.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Gregory Santos To Undergo Cleanup Knee Surgery

By Anthony Franco | April 25, 2025 at 8:54pm CDT

The Mariners placed Gregory Santos on the 15-day injured list this afternoon. Seattle announced that the reliever is dealing with right knee inflammation. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times relays that Santos will undergo a cleanup surgery to repair cartilage next week.

Seattle announced last week that Santos would be optioned to Triple-A. It seems they subsequently learned of his knee discomfort. Santos didn’t make an appearance in the minors. Players who were injured while in the majors cannot be optioned, so the option was rescinded and he lands on the MLB injured list instead.

The return timeline isn’t clear, though GM Justin Hollander said the team expects he’ll make it back before the end of the season (video provided by Marine Layer Podcast). It wouldn’t be all that surprising if he winds up on the 60-day injured list when the team needs a 40-man roster spot, though.

The M’s acquired Santos from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He’d posted a 3.39 ERA over 60 appearances in his lone season in Chicago. His tenure in the Pacific Northwest has been marred by injury. Santos suffered a lat strain midway through his first Spring Training. That shelved him into July. He went back on the injured list a few weeks later with biceps inflammation and finished the year with all of eight appearances.

Santos has made eight appearances this year as well. He’s allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and eight walks. He hasn’t recorded a single strikeout among 36 batters faced. The Mariners will hope for something more closely resembling his 2023 form after the knee surgery. Santos figures to eclipse three years of major league service during the season and will qualify for arbitration next winter.

Mariners Option Gregory Santos

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2025 at 5:00pm CDT

The Mariners have optioned right-hander Gregory Santos to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled fellow right-handed reliever Will Klein in his place, per a team announcement.

It’s the first time in nearly three years that Santos has been optioned to the minors. He was a notable trade acquisition in the 2023-24 offseason, with the Mariners sending prospects Prelander Berroa, Zach DeLoach and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft selection to the White Sox in return.

At the time of the swap, Santos was fresh off an excellent breakout season in Chicago and had five years of club control remaining. His 2023 campaign with the South Siders featured 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball. Santos had averaged 98.9 mph on his sinker while turning in strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 22.8%, 5.9% and 52.5%, respectively. He’d started that season in a low-leverage role but found himself pitching more meaningful innings as the year went on; he finished with five saves and six holds. It looked like the start of a lengthy run as a quality high-leverage reliever.

As we see all too often with pitchers, however, injuries intervened. Santos was diagnosed with a lat strain last spring and spent the first three-plus months of the season on the injured list as a result. He returned in early July but was back on the 15-day IL less than a month later, this time owing to biceps inflammation. He returned in the season’s final week and pitched a pair of scoreless innings.

Heading into 2025, Santos looked to be on track for a rebound. The lat strain was behind him, he’d finished the prior season healthy, and he posted a 1.59 ERA in six spring appearances (one run in 5 2/3 innings). That hasn’t played out whatsoever.

Santos’ once premium command has been nowhere to be found. He’s pitched seven innings and faced 36 batters. Eight of them have reached via base on balls (albeit, two of them being intentional). He’s also tossed a pair of wild pitches. Equally or more concerning is the fact that he hasn’t recorded a single strikeout yet. He’s still getting heaps of ground-balls (63%), but he’s missing badly and not inducing chases off the plate. His 11.5% opponents’ chase rate is the fourth-worst among all pitchers with at least five innings this year. His 4.6% swinging-strike rate is tied for ninth-worst.

There hasn’t been a major drop-off in Santos’ velocity. His sinker is down a bit, sitting at 98 mph, but that’s less than a one-mile gap from his 2023 peak. He’s had a bit more of a pronounced drop in his slider velo, but there’s no reason to believe he’s injured at the moment. (He is, after all, being optioned and not placed on the 15-day IL.) Santos has seen some changes in his release point from 2023 to 2025, but again, it’s not necessarily a drastic difference. For now, he’ll head to Triple-A Tacoma for a reset and look to get back on track.

It’s possible, though not yet certain, that today’s demotion could alter Santos’ path to arbitration and to free agency. He entered the season with two years and 55 days (2.055) of big league service, meaning he needed 117 days on the roster to reach three years and keep pace for arbitration eligibility this winter and free agency following the 2028 season. Of course, those factors will be rendered moot if he can’t get back on track and reestablish himself as a credible big league reliever.

Klein has actually had similar struggles to those of Santos down in Tacoma this year. He’s faced 36 batters and walked seven of them while plunking another and being charged with four wild pitches. He’s at least missing bats however and is doing so at an eye-popping rate; Klein has fanned 36.1% of his opponents and is sitting on a strong 13.8% swinging-strike rate. He’ll give Seattle a fresh arm one day after four relievers (Santos among them) needed to cover 3 2/3 innings following a rough start from Luis Castillo.

AL West Notes: Alvarez, Santos, Scherzer, Gamel

By Mark Polishuk | September 22, 2024 at 6:33pm CDT

Yordan Alvarez left today’s 9-8 Astros loss to the Angels due to a right knee contusion, and manager Joe Espada said after the game (to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and other reporters) that the slugger is “pretty sore” and will undergo testing. While sliding into second base during a third-inning double, Alvarez banged his knee on the ground and had to be replaced by pinch-runner Mauricio Dubon.

Knee problems have bothered Alvarez for much of his career, and he had arthroscopic surgeries on both of his knees back in 2020. The Astros have primarily used Alvarez as a DH in a nod to these knee issues, and while there isn’t yet any indication that today’s injury is anything more than a bruise, it certainly isn’t a good sign to see one of Houston’s top hitters suddenly facing a health concern just a week away from the playoffs. Alvarez is enjoying another tremendous season, with a 35 homers and a .305/.309/.564 slash line in a career-high 636 plate appearances entering today’s action.

Mariners Claim Jonathan Hernandez

By Anthony Franco | August 2, 2024 at 7:20pm CDT

The Mariners announced they’ve claimed reliever Jonathan Hernández off waivers from the division-rival Rangers. Seattle designated righty Brett de Geus for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The M’s also announced that trade pickup JT Chargois has joined the team and will step into the MLB bullpen. Gregory Santos lands on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 1, with biceps inflammation.

Hernández, 28, changes teams for the first time in his career. He spent more than a decade as a member of the Rangers organization after signing in January 2013. Hernández reached the big leagues in the second half of the 2019 season, not long after his 23rd birthday.

The right-hander had a couple solid seasons to start his MLB career. He turned in a 2.90 ERA across 31 innings during the shortened 2020 schedule. He lost the entire following season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April ’21. Hernández returned for the second half in 2022 and looked to be picking up where he’d left off. He tossed 30 1/3 frames of 2.97 ERA ball for the stretch run. He picked up four saves and 10 holds while finishing 16 games as a medium-leverage reliever.

Things have gone downhill over the past two seasons. Hernández struggled to a 5.40 earned run average a year ago. Texas shuttled him back and forth between Triple-A on a few occasions, burning his final minor league option in the process. That meant the Rangers needed to keep him on the MLB roster this season.

Texas gave Hernández plenty of runway, affording him 41 innings across 26 appearances, but his results didn’t turn around. He allowed a 5.05 ERA with a career-worst 19.9% strikeout percentage and a lofty 14.4% walk rate. The Rangers pushed him out of their bullpen (and thus off the 40-man roster) on Tuesday with their deadline pickup of Andrew Chafin from the Tigers.

Seattle will try to help Hernández right the ship. They’ll also need to keep him on the big league roster unless they decide to designate him for assignment themselves. Hernández still averages nearly 97 MPH on his sinker and misses a decent number of bats with his slider. That solid raw stuff has too often been undercut by poor command, but there’s minimal cost for the M’s in taking a look. They’re assuming a little less than $400K on his $1.245MM salary for the stretch run. Hernández would be under arbitration control for another two seasons if he holds his bullpen spot in Seattle.

The Mariners added de Geus to their 40-man roster back in April. He has made four big league appearances, working 3 1/3 frames of one-run ball. Seattle has mostly kept the 26-year-old on optional assignment to Triple-A Tacoma, where he has allowed a 6.60 ERA across 30 innings in the Pacific Coast League.

de Geus is a former teammate of Hernández with the ’21 Rangers, who plucked him from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. He combined for 50 innings of 7.56 ERA ball between the Rangers and Diamondbacks that season and didn’t get back to the big leagues until this year. Seattle will likely put him on waivers this weekend.

As for Santos, the offseason trade pickup missed most of the first half due to a lat strain. He returned to make six appearances before leaving Wednesday’s appearance with biceps soreness. He’ll miss at least the next two weeks, though Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times fortunately tweeted this afternoon that imaging came back clean.

Mariners Activate Gregory Santos From 60-Day Injured List

By Steve Adams | July 8, 2024 at 3:33pm CDT

The Mariners are getting a big arm back in the bullpen, as they announced Monday that right-hander Gregory Santos has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Seattle already had an open 40-man spot to accommodate the move, and righty Emerson Hancock was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.

Acquired from the White Sox in an offseason trade sending outfielder Zach DeLoach, righty Prelander Berroa and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick back to Chicago, Santos has yet to throw a pitch with the Mariners. The right-hander suffered a lat strain in spring training an has spent the entire year to this point on the injured list. The 24-year-old tossed a pair of shutout innings during a minor league rehab stint, fanning two of his seven opponents without issuing a walk. That was sufficient for the Mariners to activate him.

Last year with the White Sox, Santos broke out with 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball. For a pitcher who’d been designated for assignment by the Giants and flipped to the Sox for minor league righty Kade McClure, it was an unexpected development and one of the few bright spots in an otherwise awful 2023 campaign for the ChiSox. Santos fanned a roughly average 22.8% of his opponents, turned in an outstanding 5.9% walk rate and kept the ball on the ground at a very strong 52.5% clip — all while averaging 98.8 mph on his sinker.

In acquiring Santos, the Mariners hoped to be landing five years of a premium reliever to pair with standout closer Andres Munoz and flamethrowing setup stud Matt Brash. That plan hasn’t come to fruition. Brash won’t pitch this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early May. Santos will make his Mariners debut in the coming days. Munoz has been excellent (1.50 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate, 14 saves), but the setup bridge to him has been handled by spring signee Ryne Stanek, 2023 deadline acquisition Trent Thornton and offseason signee Austin Voth. Santos might not jump right into the mix as the top setup option, but he should be pitching in high-leverage spots before terribly long, so long as he remains healthy.

Mariners Notes: Garver, Santos, Speier

By Nick Deeds | June 30, 2024 at 8:03pm CDT

The Mariners had an injury scare this evening as catcher Mitch Garver was strike in the wrist by a pitch from Twins right-hander Joe Ryan during this afternoon’s game and exited with what Seattle termed a right wrist contusion. As noted by MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, manager Scott Servais told reporters after the game that x-rays on Garver’s wrist came back negative, but that the club doesn’t plan on making a decision about next steps regarding the 33-year-old until Tuesday given the club has tomorrow off.

Garver came to the Mariners on a two-year, $26MM deal over the offseason. The longtime catcher had gradually seen more and more of his time come at DH during his tenure with the Rangers and joined Seattle ticketed for a regular role at DH while occasionally spelling Raleigh behind the plate as well. Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for Garver half a season into his Mariners tenure, however, as he’s slashed just .172/.291/.353 in 71 games this year. While he’s hit for decent power and walked at an excellent 13.5% clip, the combination of a massive 30.9% strikeout rate and his deflated .214 BABIP have left him below average overall with a wRC+ of just 90. That’s certainly passable production from a catcher, but far more is to be expected from a player who is essentially being paid to be a full-time DH.

The potential injury comes as a particularly frustrating time for the Mariners as Garver had begun to heat up in the month of June. In 91 trips to the plate this month entering play tonight, Garver had slashed a much more palatable .187/.319/.453 with a 122 wRC+. That improved production is generally backed up by solid peripherals, as well; Garver’s strikeout rate, while still elevated, has dipped to a more manageable 28.6% this month, and he’s walked at an enormous 16.5% clip. A BABIP of just .200 suggests that further positive regression could be in store for Garver, though it now seems possible that will have to wait depending on how much his wrist heals in the coming days.

Even in the event that Garver requires only a few days off, it’s possible the Mariners will look to make some sort of short-term roster move. After all, he and Raleigh are the only two catchers on the club’s active roster, meaning the club could be forced into a tough situation if Raleigh were to get hurt while Garver is down. The Mariners have Seby Zavala and Michael Perez as depth catching options at Triple-A, though neither is currently on the club’s 40-man roster.

In more positive Mariners news, a pair of key relievers appear to be making their way towards a return to action. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times relayed recently that, according to GM Justin Hollander, right-hander Gregory Santos is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that lefty Gabe Speier is set to throw a bullpen session that same day.

The impending return of the two hurlers is excellent news for the Mariners. Santos, in particular, figured to handle late-inning duties for the club alongside closer Andres Munoz and veteran set-up man Ryne Stanek after the club swung a trade with the White Sox to acquire him just before the start of Spring Training. Unfortunately, that deal has yet to bear fruit as Santos has been sidelined the entire season to this point after suffering a lat strain in mid-March. He could prove to be an impactful arm for the Mariners in leverage situations once healthy enough to take the mound in the big leagues, however, as shown by his 3.39 ERA and 2.65 FIP in 66 1/3 innings of work with Chicago last year.

As for Speier, the lefty has missed the past month with rotator cuff issues but was in the midst of a frustrating 2024 season prior to his injury. In 22 appearances with Seattle this year, the lefty has struggled to a 6.06 ERA in spite of peripheral numbers that remain mostly solid. Speier has struck out a strong 29.3% of batters faced this year but has dealt with some poor fortune on batted balls and sequencing, as demonstrated by an elevated .325 BABIP allowed and an unsustainable strand rate of just 61.3%, far below the typical 70-75% range for the average hurler.

Not all of Speier’s struggles have been self-inflicted, of course; the lefty has allowed free passes at a worrying 13.3% clip this year, a massive change from the 5.1% walk rate he posted with the Mariners last season when he posted a 3.79 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 69 games. The Mariners will surely be hoping that’s the version of Speier they get back once he’s healthy enough to return, which MLB.com suggests is unlikely to be until after the All Star break.

Mariners Notes: Crawford, Canzone, Saucedo, Santos, Woo

By Mark Polishuk | May 11, 2024 at 10:45am CDT

The Mariners’ 8-1 win over the Athletics on Friday marked Seattle’s fourth-highest run total of the season, in a positive sign for the club’s search for lineup consistency. With offense generally down around the league, the Mariners’ 98 wRC+ still puts them ahead of 11 other teams, but naturally there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The Mariners’ 28.7% strikeout total is the highest in MLB, and they also rank 24th of 30 clubs in both batting average (.225) and runs (147).

Some lineup reinforcements could be on the way, as shortstop J.P. Crawford is close to beginning a minor league rehab assignment. Mariners GM Justin Hollander told reporters (including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times) that Crawford could possibly start the assignment this very weekend, as Crawford completed batting practice and a full fielding drill prior to yesterday’s game. Crawford hasn’t played since April 23 due to an oblique strain, and given how oblique problems often have a wide range of recovery times, it’s a good sign that Crawford appears better after such a relatively short period.

Crawford wasn’t exactly off to a roaring start prior to his injury, as he had only a .198/.296/.302 slash line in his first 98 plate appearances. A .227 BABIP could be largely responsible for those numbers, though Crawford’s Isolated Power metric was down to .105 — much more akin to his career norms before last season’s big spike up to 172. The shortstop enjoyed the best offensive season of his career in 2023, hitting .266/.380/.438 with 19 homers and a league-best 94 walks over 638 PA, translating to an excellent 134 wRC+.

Albeit in a much smaller sample size, Dominic Canzone had a comparable 133 wRC+ in 35 PA this season before hitting the injured list himself with a left AC joint sprain. Canzone suffered the injury crashing into the outfield wall while making a catch in the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the Cubs on April 14, so it looks like he’ll miss just over a month since the outfielder is starting a Triple-A rehab assignment today. Hollander said the plan is for Canzone to play four minor league games before being evaluated for a possible activation from the 10-day IL.

Tayler Saucedo was placed on the 15-day IL last Wednesday due to a hyper-extended right knee, but Hollander said Saucedo’s MRI results suggested that the left-hander might only miss the minimum 15 days. The news isn’t as good for another pitcher on Seattle’s injured list, as Gregory Santos’ recovery timeline has now been stretched into July. Santos has yet to pitch this season due to a lat strain and was already on the 60-day IL, so he wouldn’t have been able to pitch until late May at the earliest.

The initial expectation was that Santos would be able to return either immediately once that 60-day window was up, or perhaps a few days or a week afterwards. However, Hollander said that Santos’ throwing program was recently shut down, and the reliever has only recently started throwing again in the 60-90 foot range.

Bryan Woo was another pitcher who hadn’t yet taken the hill in 2024, as a bout of elbow inflammation in Spring Training forced Woo onto the 15-day IL to begin the season. Woo made his return yesterday against Oakland and looked very sharp in allowing only one hit and one walk over 4 1/3 shutout innings, but he had to make an early exit due to right forearm tightness.

Despite the ominous-sounding nature of a forearm issue, Woo and M’s manager Scott Servais told MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer and other media that the removal was precautionary, and that Woo is expected to make his next start. Woo suggested that “it was just sitting for a long time” during an extended bottom of the fourth inning, when the Mariners scored five runs.

“It was a long inning. You sit for that long, especially coming back from injuries, like it gets kind of cold and it’s kind of hard to get it going again. So it’s kind of been like a theme throughout the rehab process,” Woo said.

Mariners Select Leo Rivas, Place J.P. Crawford On Injured List

By Steve Adams | April 25, 2024 at 12:00pm CDT

The Mariners have placed shortstop J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, per a team announcement. Infielder Leo Rivas’ contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma, and he’ll take Crawford’s spot on the roster. Righty Gregory Santos was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move. More specifically, Crawford tells Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that he’s dealing with a Grade 1 strain (X link).

Crawford was scratched from yesterday’s game after experiencing tightness in his right oblique. He was sent for an MRI that revealed the strain. The Mariners haven’t provided a timetable for his return, but even Grade 1 strains — the least severe — of an oblique can sideline players for upwards of a month. Manager Scott Servais said prior to today’s game that utilityman Dylan Moore will be in line for the bulk of the shortstop reps while Crawford is on the shelf (X link via Divish).

The timing of Crawford’s injury is unfortunate. He’d gotten out to a slow start in 2024 but had just begun to turn the tides, hitting safely in nine of his past ten games and batting .275/.383/.360 during that span. He’s still hitting just .198/.296/.302 on the whole but had clearly been trending in the right direction prior to sustaining the injury.

Crawford’s absence will cost the Mariners their everyday leadoff man and shortstop. He’s emerged as a consistent presence atop the lineup, slashing .262/.352/.384 from 2021-23 while playing sound defense at shortstop (where he won a Gold Glove in 2020). Swapping him out for the 31-year-old Moore is likely a downgrade on both sides of the ball.

While Moore has plenty of experience at shortstop — and at nearly every position on the diamond — it’s his weakest position by measure of both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average. Moore is a .217/.344/.398 hitter since 2022 (118 wRC+), but that production has come with the benefit of being heavily platooned; he won’t have that luxury in an everyday role and figures to face plenty of right-handers, against whom he’s just a .198/.302/.368 hitter.

Rivas, 26, is receiving his first call to the bigs. The Mariners are his third career organization, as he was originally signed by the Angels as a teenager and has also spent time with the Reds. He’s out to a strong start in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s posted a .308/.422/.462 slash in 66 trips to the plate. Getting on base has never been an issue for Rivas in the minors, where he touts a career .378 OBP. He lacks power, however, evidenced by a career-high of seven homers and a lifetime .106 ISO (slugging minus average). Divish notes that Servais touted Rivas’ defense multiple times as a reason that he was given the call in the wake of Crawford’s injury.

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