The Mariners placed Gregory Santos on the 15-day injured list this afternoon. Seattle announced that the reliever is dealing with right knee inflammation. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times relays that Santos will undergo a cleanup surgery to repair cartilage next week.
Seattle announced last week that Santos would be optioned to Triple-A. It seems they subsequently learned of his knee discomfort. Santos didn’t make an appearance in the minors. Players who were injured while in the majors cannot be optioned, so the option was rescinded and he lands on the MLB injured list instead.
The return timeline isn’t clear, though GM Justin Hollander said the team expects he’ll make it back before the end of the season (video provided by Marine Layer Podcast). It wouldn’t be all that surprising if he winds up on the 60-day injured list when the team needs a 40-man roster spot, though.
The M’s acquired Santos from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He’d posted a 3.39 ERA over 60 appearances in his lone season in Chicago. His tenure in the Pacific Northwest has been marred by injury. Santos suffered a lat strain midway through his first Spring Training. That shelved him into July. He went back on the injured list a few weeks later with biceps inflammation and finished the year with all of eight appearances.
Santos has made eight appearances this year as well. He’s allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and eight walks. He hasn’t recorded a single strikeout among 36 batters faced. The Mariners will hope for something more closely resembling his 2023 form after the knee surgery. Santos figures to eclipse three years of major league service during the season and will qualify for arbitration next winter.