SEATTLE -- Emerson Hancock was so eager for the next-man-up opportunity while George Kirby is sidelined, so excited to remain with his good buddies in the Mariners¡¯ rotation and so ready for the regular season after a strong Spring Training.
Which made his disastrous 2025 debut so sour.
Hancock failed to make it out of the first inning in a 9-6 loss to the Tigers on Monday, surrendering seven hits and a four-pitch walk among the nine batters he faced. He needed 39 pitches to reach that point and exited with a deficit that became deeper after the Mariners¡¯ bullpen gave up three more runs. In total, the Mariners were tagged for 18 hits.
With a dire need for Seattle to start the season strong -- missing the postseason by one game to these Tigers last year being a prime example -- the club badly needs Hancock to hold things down until Kirby returns.
¡°I have to find a way to get out of that inning,¡± Hancock said, ¡°that way, we can get out and maybe get some more length out of that game, or maybe you get into a rhythm and settle in later, but I didn't do my job."
Kirby, who was shut down with right shoulder inflammation on March 7 after making one Cactus League start, began playing catch on March 21 and, at the time of that update, was expected to progress toward bullpen sessions then live hitters in Arizona before beginning a Minor League rehab assignment.
Kirby was optimistic about a late-April return, though the Mariners haven¡¯t outlined a timeline, other than general manager Justin Hollander calling his recovery ¡°more like a week-to-week thing than a day-to-day thing¡± when Kirby was first shut down.
The Kirby/Hancock spot in the rotation will come up five times in April if the Mariners remain on turn, though the club has five off-days in the month to work around. If they did move things around, they¡¯d also have to account for the early season workload of the rest of their starters -- most notably, Bryan Woo, who was outstanding in his ¡®25 debut on Sunday but who will nonetheless be monitored closely given his injury history.
The only other realistic option for the Kirby/Hancock spot would be right-hander Logan Evans (Seattle¡¯s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline), though he had a 12.38 ERA in four Cactus outings and the club would like to see more seasoning before making a would-be MLB debut.
¡°He really was coming in confident, and I don't think he'll lose any confidence from this one,¡± Mariners manager Dan Wilson said of Hancock. ¡°He's a competitor, and he'll get right back on it.¡±
As for Hancock on Monday, he was ambushed from the get-go, surrendering a leadoff double to Justyn-Henry Malloy on his third pitch then an RBI single two pitches later to Kerry Carpenter.
A homer to Riley Greene followed, after Hancock caught Carpenter on a steal attempt; a single from Spencer Torkelson preceded a four-pitch walk to Colt Keith before Hancock retired Zach McKinstry via flyout.
Hancock nearly got out of the jam -- reaching two strikes to two of his final three batters -- but all three had hits for another two runs to end his night.
Of note, three of the hits against him had an exit velocity of 70.4 mph or lower, while his fastball velocity was up 1.9 mph to an average of 95.1 mph while topping out at 96.2 mph.
¡°You've just got to kind of keep going,¡± Hancock said. ¡°You can't really let it affect you, as hard as it is, but you've just got to go out there and keep throwing strikes, keep doing what you do and it¡¯ll turn.¡±
Hancock¡¯s next turn comes up on Sunday in San Francisco. Without any other realistic options, and given the confidence that the Mariners showed in him throughout spring, they¡¯re hoping that he can quickly flush Monday -- because Kirby¡¯s return is probably still further on the horizon.