HOUSTON — At the very least, the Mariners appear to have avoided the worst-case scenario with Bryan Woo.
Medical images taken Saturday revealed “minor inflammation” in Woo’s pectoral muscle, manager Dan Wilson said Saturday afternoon, a day after the Mariners ace exited his outing early against the rival Astros.
Wilson said the team’s training staff was still formulating next-step plans, but Woo is not expected to need a stint on the injured list.
“We’ll let the trainers figure out the best course of action at this point,” Wilson said. “But I think today was, in a lot of ways, good news, and we’ll just continue to assess it.”
Woo’s availability for his next turn in the rotation — against the Colorado Rockies back at T-Mobile Park — will depend on how he responds to treatment in the next couple days.
“It’s fluid,” Wilson said. “… We’ll know a little bit more in the next 24 to 48 hours, depending on how he responds. He’ll obviously want to get out as soon as possible, but that’s what we know at this point, and we’ll just continue to assess it as we go.”
Woo, 25, spent part of the afternoon in the training room with an ice wrap around his right side and arm.
Woo has been the most dominant and most durable pitcher the Mariners have had this season, and in an ideal scenario he’d be the guy they would turn to to open a playoff series, presuming the Mariners get there.