SEATTLE – With a bye week to prepare for the American League Division Series, the Mariners are well positioned to line up their starting rotation exactly* how they want to open the postseason next weekend at home.
*With one major caveat.
“I’ll let you know for sure when we see Bryan (Woo) throw against hitters,” Jerry Dipoto, the club’s president of baseball operations, said Sunday morning. “But he’s trending in a good direction.”
Since exiting his last start in Houston on Sept. 19 with inflammation in his right pectoral muscle, Woo has been limited in his throwing activity.
Woo threw a baseball for the first time on Thursday, off flat ground. He has yet to throw off a mound.
He’s scheduled to gradually build back up arm strength this week, and Dipoto said it’s possible that Woo will face hitters during one the Mariners’ two intrasquad scrimmages this week — on Wednesday and Thursday, both open to the public.
“Yesterday, the highlight of my day was walking in the training room and (Woo) had a smile and said, ‘I felt great,’” Dipoto said. “So that’s good for me. And the trainers weren’t particularly concerned. So a good deal of optimism that he is part of that rotation to start the ALDS, and he’s a huge part of what we do, so it’s pretty important that he’s there.”
Woo, 25, emerged as the Mariners ace this season, earning his first All-Star selection and ranking among the AL leaders in ERA (2.94), WHIP (0.927), strikeouts (198), innings pitched (186.2) and bWAR (4.3).
“We already have a pretty good idea of what the plan is for Bryan, though we’re going to wait until he actually sees … a hitter before we make a final determination,” Dipoto said.
The Mariners will open AL Division Series play Saturday, hosting the winner of the Guardians-Tigers wild-card series.
ALDS schedule:
• Saturday, Oct. 4: Game 1 at T-Mobile Park
• Sunday, Oct. 5: Game 2 at T-Mobile Park
• Tuesday, Oct. 7: Game 3 at Cleveland or Detroit
• Wednesday, Oct. 8: Game 4 at Cleveland or Detroit (if necessary)
• Friday, Oct. 10: Game 5 at T-Mobile Park (if necessary)
The Mariners don’t have to announce which pitcher will start Game 1 of the ALDS until later this week, and how the rotation lines up will depend on when, exactly, Woo is available.
In Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and George Kirby, the Mariners have three veteran starters with postseason experience.
“We have a lot of really easy choices, and we can’t go wrong with who we pick,” Dipoto said. “We’ve had some initial meetings on how we want to line that up. It won’t be necessarily geared toward who’s your No. 1 starter, but who do we feel is most rested, best positioned, and where does Bryan slot in? And we can’t really make the other decisions until we have a better idea where Bryan will slot.”
The home/road splits for Mariners starters have been fairly drastic this year, and that figures to be a primary factor in deciding who will start Games 1 and 2 at home, and who they trust most to start on the road.
Bryan Woo
Home: 2.44 ERA, 29.6% K rate, .543 OPS allowed
Road: 3.40 ERA, 24.9% K rate, .643 OPS
Logan Gilbert
Home: 2.24 ERA, 38.8% K rate, .512 OPS
Road: 4.74 ERA, 26.2% K rate, .767 OPS
Luis Castillo
Home: 2.60 ERA, 24.7% K rate, .580 OPS
Road: 4.71 ERA, 18.4% K rate, .833 OPS
George Kirby
Home: 3.38 ERA, 26.9% K rate, .628 OPS
Road: 5.16 ERA, 25.3% K rate, .761 OPS
During a five-game playoff series, the Mariners won’t need a fifth starter, which means Bryce Miller will likely be moved to the bullpen, though those plans have not been finalized.
Fans invited to scrimmages
As they try to stay sharp for the ALDS, the Mariners have scheduled two six-inning scrimmages this week, and fans are invited to attend both workouts at T-Mobile Park.
First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Thursday. Gates open an hour before on both days.
Tickets can be purchased for $10 for general admission seating on the main level, available at Mariners.com/Scrimmages.
Proceeds benefit Mariners Care Foundation. Concessions and other facilities will be available to fans throughout the main concourse.