Inside The Mariners

Here's Who the Seattle Mariners Are Sending Down to Make Room For Emerson Hancock on Roster

The Mariners are giving Emerson Hancock the start on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, sending down reliever Will Klein in the process.
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Will Klein (36) pitches during the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium in 2024.
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Will Klein (36) pitches during the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium in 2024. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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The Seattle Mariners made a surprising move on Thursday, announcing that they were re-shuffling their pitching plans again in order to give right-hander Emerson Hancock a start against the Cincinnati Reds.

In a corresponding move, the team officially optioned reliever Will Klein to Triple-A Tacoma. He had just been called up on Wednesday to take the place of the struggling Gregory Santos.

Klein, 25, was acquired by the Mariners this past offseason. A former Futures Game participant (2023), Klein has eight games of major league experience, with all of it coming for the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics in 2024.

He's 1-0 with a 11.05 ERA.

This year with Tacoma, he's gone 1-0 with a 12.79 ERA in seven games. The PCL is notoriously hitter-friendly, so he could still get an opportunity with the Mariners later this year.

As for Hancock, he's set to make his second start of the year in the big leagues. He had a disastrous start on March 31 against the Detroit Tigers, giving up six earned runs in just 0.2 innings. He fared better in the big leagues in 2024, going 4-4 with a 4.75 ERA over 12 games.

He's been better with the Rainiers, going 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA in two starts.

The Mariners enter play on Thursday at 9-9 overall and winners of five of their last six games. They beat the Reds 5-3 on Wednesday night and will go for a series win on Thursday morning at 9:40 a.m. PT.

They'll head to Toronto for a weekend series after that.

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