Seattle Mariners Longtime Rotation Stalwart Officially Out For Season

The idea of a return this season already seemed bleak, but now we know officially that Seattle Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales will miss the rest of the season with injury.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Gonzales will undergo season-ending surgery on his left forearm, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.

ANALYSIS
Gonzales was initially placed on the injured list in June with a flexor strain in his left forearm and was later shut down from a throwing program due to a nerve issue in his elbow. He had hoped to avoid surgery, but undergoing the procedure will give him the best chance to be ready for the start of the 2024 season. The 31-year-old southpaw will conclude 2023 with a 5.22 ERA and 1.46 WHIP alongside a 34:18 K:BB across 50 innings in 10 starts.

Though the ERA was high this year, he did go 5-2 for the Mariners and his absence is a big deal for multiple reasons.

1) Gonzales has been a valued member of the rotation for years and has been one of the more reliable arms in the American League since coming to Seattle.

Since arriving in Seattle in 2017, he's gone 61-47 for the M's with a 4.08 ERA. He had made 25 or more starts in each full season since 2018. He went 7-2 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

2) The Mariners are dealing with multiple young arms that they want to be careful with. Bryce Miller, Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock have all been called up this year. The total number of innings thrown will rise, as will the stress of those innings. The team undoubtedly wants to be careful with their innings and having Gonzales back would have allowed them to do that.

After losing two straight to the Orioles, the Mariners are now 63-54. They are 1.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild card spot in the American League.

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