Seattle Mariners GM Justin Hollander Clarifies Team's Position on 6-Man Rotation
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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have had notable injuries to their pitching staff after having the healthiest rotation in the major leagues last season.
In 2024, the Mariners were the only team in baseball with four pitchers who started 30 or more games. Only seven pitchers started for Seattle all last season — the least in the majors. This year, three starting pitchers have landed on the injured list and nine hurlers have started games.
But, the injury woes are taking a turn for the better. George Kirby made his season debut May 22, Bryce Miller will be activated off the injured list in the coming days and Logan Gilbert will begin his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers this week.
There's been speculation the club could opt for a six-man rotation to preserve health for the rest of the season.
Seattle general manager Justin Hollander spoke to the media in a pregame scrum Tuesday and clarified there is "intrigue" in the idea of adding a man to the rotation, but it's unlikely the Mariners divert from their five-man rotation.
"I would say the unfortunate thing about the roster rules is you only get 26 spots and you only get 13 pitchers. And when you add a sixth starter, you take away a reliever. When you add a sixth starter, sometimes your starters pitch every six days and sometimes they pitch every eight or nine days. Starting pitchers are fussy, they don't like that. ... (President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto) talked about this on the road trip, I would not anticipate a full six-man rotation. There may be times where we drop in a sixth starter. But I think we will stick with a five-man rotation, at least with how we're headed right now."
This information means that fill-in starters Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans will spend the majority of the season back with Tacoma after Miller and Gilbert return.
Emerson Hancock's 2Ks in the 2nd. ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/7qFZPdA5De
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2025
Hollander's aside about the team potentially dropping in a sixth starter occasionally means that either Evans or Hancock could both make major league appearances after they're optioned back to Triple-A. The experience the two hurlers have had will be beneficial to the team, especially if another major injury pops up.
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