Seattle Mariners Activate High-Leverage Reliever Matt Brash Off Injured List
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One of the Seattle Mariners most skilled relievers is officially back after a lengthy layoff. Matt Brash was activated off the 15-day injured list Saturday. He missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Brash missed the first 31 games of this season with the same injury.
Troy Taylor was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in a corresponding move.
Matt Brash is back off the IL. His first outing will be his first since Sept. 30, 2023.#Mariners #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/cFnhEPDaqI
— Teren Kowatsch (@Teren_Kowatsch) May 3, 2025
Brash was one of the Mariners' most dependable and effective relievers in 2023. In a team-leading 78 appearances, he had a 3.06 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched.
2023 PitchingNinja Award for Filthiest Slider of the Year. ☠️🪦🏆
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 18, 2023
Winner: Matt Brash pic.twitter.com/eSIzjt7HHF
Brash has had six outings on a rehab assignment with Seattle's Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers. He had an 8.44 ERA with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. He allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits (one home run) and walked two batters.
Brash's original recovery timeline post-Tommy John surgery had him returning somewhere around the All-Star break, but he's been well ahead of schedule. He had several live bullpen sessions during spring training where he had full spin rate on his secondary pitches and had full velocity back on his fastball. He pitched 0.2 innings in the Mariners Cactus League finale against the San Diego Padres on March 24.
Seattle's bullpen has been one of most highly-used units in baseball this season. Entering Saturday, the Mariners' relievers were sixth in the majors and second in the American League in innings pitched (122). The team has led the league in that statistic at various points in the year.
Brash won't immediately pitch in high-leverage situations again. But if works his way back to the form he had in 2023, then the back-end of the bullpen can be extremely dangerous with Brash, Carlos Vargas, Gabe Speier and Andres Munoz.
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