Mariners’ Wild New Piggyback Plan Throws Entire Rotation Into the Experiment

The Mariners are trying to control the chaos by adding even more moving parts.

May 23, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby (68) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Just in case the Mariners’ rotation wasn’t already weird enough, they’ve decided to turn it into an all-hands-on-deck group project. So, they’re going back to the piggyback pitching plan, only this time it’s not just Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo being asked to do it. According to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, every Mariners starter is expected to rotate through piggyback days through the All-Star break.

Justin Hollander said the decision was “unanimous,” with all six starters involved in the planning. If it’s truly unanimous, that’s great for the rotation. But still, this sounds really messy.

The Mariners have six starters they clearly feel deserve real innings. But a traditional six-man rotation is tough to carry when the bullpen is already this thin. That’s the key part of this thing that needs to be considered. If Seattle had more bridge relievers, a six-man rotation might be easier to justify. But since the bullpen is decimated, and there may also be a little pride and ego involved with starters not wanting to lose their place, this might be the only way to make the whole thing work.

If everyone is truly bought in, that helps a lot. There’s a difference between the front office forcing a plan onto a staff and a group of pitchers agreeing that this is the best way to get through the next few weeks. 

The Mariners Are Asking Their Starters to Sacrifice Routine for the Bigger Picture

The next question is can this help them win games. They’re sitting on top of the AL West, but it’s not like they’re comfortable. Continuously experimenting with the rotation could easily lead to more volatility. This type of plan involves balancing a lot. They’ll need to keep six starters stretched out. And they also want to stay on top of the AL West race without handing away games because they were getting too cute with their pitching plan. 

This is a creative idea, but from a perspective outside of the organization, this could look like a ridiculous amount of overengineering for something that’s not exactly uncommon. Quite frankly, it might’ve been easier to find a multi-inning weapon for the bullpen than to go with this rotation scheduling experiment.

We can respect the logic and still admit that this is strange. The Mariners are taking their entire rotation and asking everyone to bend for the good of the group.

Ideally, the plan goes off without a hitch and it keeps their starters healthy and aligned through the All-Star break. Just the way they want it to.