The Seattle Mariners tentatively received good news Saturday, as their 2025 ace Bryan Woo was diagnosed with minor inflammation in his pectoral muscle, per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. The initial MRI appears to have reflected the optimistic tone from Woo and manager Dan Wilson on Friday night. While Woo’s early removal against the Houston Astros was cause for significant concern, the Mariners see the situation as precautionary, and will continue to monitor his recovery over the next day or two
for confirmation that Woo can avoid a trip to the injured list.
Per Jude, the team’s caution nonetheless has led them to believe Woo will not likely necessitate time on the IL, fortuitous given the minimum 15 day timing would keep Woo out for at least the rest of the regular season, and impact his availability for the early rounds of the playoffs.
The gust of winds blowing through Seattle are the collective sighs of relief from M’s fans, employees, and ownership, with the M’s buttery-smooth righty afforded some measure of luxury to shuffle the rotation down the stretch. With an off day Monday, followed by the moribund Colorado Rockies coming to town, if Seattle feels Woo would benefit meaningfully from an additional 1-3 days of rest, they might orchestrate a spot start or a bullpen game in the season’s final week. While that’s dangerously close to breaking out the abacus while inspecting the hens, Seattle will still have some tricky choices to make down the home stretch. Knock on Woo-d, the hardest batch of choices appear not to be needed.
