Seattle Mariners Reliever Matt Brash Expected to Return From Injury Before End of April
The Seattle Mariners starting pitching rotation was the pinnacle of health in 2024. It was the only rotation in the league that had four pitchers start 30 or more games. But the same couldn't be said for the bullpen.
A trade acquisition from the previous offseason, Gregory Santos, missed most of last season with various injuries. The Mariners' leader in appearances in 2023, Matt Brash, missed all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
In a news conference hosted via Zoom, Seattle President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto talked to the media about the health of his pitchers. And the updates came with a positive bit of news about Brash.
Brash's original timetable post-surgery gave him a June or July return. Possibly as late as after the All-Star break.
But, according to Dipoto, Brash is progressing ahead of schedule in his recovery and his return will come sooner rather than later, barring any setbacks.
"Matt's had a great rehab," Dipoto said in the news conference. "Fingers crossed, he's down in (Peoria, Ariz.) already. He has really not had a roadblock to date. Our current expectation is he's ready to go when we start rolling in spring training. And our present timeline is that we should get him back somewhere around the third week of April. Which is pretty exciting and, obviously, that's tentative. It could change and, obviously, it wouldn't be at all shocking if he did experience some setback as he starts to ramp up into game mode. But we haven't seen that yet. And I think Matt's very encouraged with how he feels and the like."
Matt Brash's 3Ks. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QrKeoZpo8X
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 13, 2023
Brash posted a 3.06 ERA in 2023 with 107 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched across 78 appearances.
When Brash is healthy, he's one of the elite set-up men in the league and capable of stepping into the closer role in a pinch.
If Brash is able to stick with the tentative deadline Dipoto said and regain the form he had before he got injured, the floor of the Mariners bullpen could be significantly higher than it was in 2024.
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