Seattle Mariners GM Continues to Talk Optimistically About Matt Brash's Return From Injury
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Friday was a tough day for the Seattle Mariners as general manager Justin Hollander announced that starting pitcher George Kirby was being shut down because of right shoulder inflammation.
Though the injury isn't expected to be serious, it's a tough blow for an M's team that relies heavily on the strength of its starting pitching. Kirby is one of the top pitchers in the American League and the top control pitcher in baseball.
However, within the update on Kirby, Hollander gave a positive update on multiple other Mariners players, including reliever Matt Brash.
Brash missed all of last season with Tommy John surgery but Hollander said he's expected to return to the big-leagues by late April, consistent with what they've said all along.
Here’s Justin Hollander talking about it pic.twitter.com/rl3sv6Kmeq
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 7, 2025
The 26-year-old is one of the nastiest pitchers in all of baseball, complete with that triple-digit fastball and a wicked slider. He went 9-4 in 2023 for Seattle with a 3.06 ERA and led baseball in appearances with 78. He made his major league debut in 2022 and made five starts before heading to Triple-A and resurfacing as a dynamite reliever.
When he's back, the M's will hope to pair him with Gregory Santos and Andres Munoz in order to form a dominant back-end of the bullpen trio. Troy Taylor, battling back from his own injury, could also join the group in a high-leverage fashion.
The Mariners are coming off a season in which they went 85-77 and missed the playoffs by one game. They open the regular season on March 27.
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