SEATTLE -- Logan Gilbert was on cruise control on Friday night, carving through the Marlins¡¯ lineup and needing just 29 pitches to work through three perfect innings.
Which made the Mariners¡¯ call to the bullpen to begin the fourth that much more abrupt, as Gilbert was relieved by journeyman long reliever Casey Lawrence to begin the inning.
Then one inning later in an eventual 8-4 loss, the Mariners announced that Gilbert exited with right forearm tightness.
A source with knowledge of the situation told MLB.com that initial medical reviews revealed ¡°modest¡± but ¡°not zero¡± concern, and specifically that there¡¯s optimism that his UCL is still intact. But the Mariners won't know more until after he undergoes an MRI on Saturday.
¡°I don't want to make it like a pity party about myself,¡± Gilbert said, on the cusp of emotion. ¡°But I take a lot of pride in that, just kind of how I want to be known -- eating innings and being dependable and being healthy. I can't control all of that. But I've been healthy and never really came out of a start. I think this is the first one."
Indeed, Gilbert has never been on the injured list since his debut on May 13, 2021 -- making every scheduled start since.
¡°I've got a lot of faith,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°God's got a plan. I trust in that. I think it'll be all right. I think it could be a lot, lot worse. So we'll see what happens.¡±
Gilbert experienced diminished velocity across all his pitches throughout the brief outing, albeit not by a massive amount.
His four-seam fastball velocity was down 1 mph from his 95.6 mph season average, while his slider was down 0.9 mph, his two-seamer was down 0.3 mph and his curveball was down 0.8 mph. The heater topped out at 96.1 mph and was as low as 93 mph. And he opted not to throw his splitter at all, as that specific pitch can cause more strain on the forearm.
¡°We didn¡¯t think it was a good idea,¡± Gilbert said, adding that he began noticing the issue when warming up and that it ¡°just never really went away.¡±
Pregame, Gilbert was seen with far less effort on his long tosses, then in between innings, his warmup pitches were mostly without a windup.
¡°It didn't really get like a ton worse, which is good,¡± Gilbert said.
The slight drop in speed was notable given that the workhorse typically carries his velocity from start to finish, compared to other starters who build it as their outing progresses.
¡°Sometimes early in the year, I feel like there's just a hump you kind of got to get over,¡± Gilbert said. ¡°And I felt like I was almost at that point. There's been little bumps and bruises, and April can be tough as you just get some stressful pitches to get over the hump. So it's nothing too crazy concerning. But it usually goes away. It just didn't really go away.
¡°This last week or two, I was taking it really easy. Just, like I said, trying to get over the hump. Nothing crazy out of the normal. Usually on start day, you get some adrenaline, you feel good and it goes away. And, like I said, it just didn't really get to that point.¡±
The 2024 All-Star was pitching on an extra day¡¯s rest, too, after the Mariners had an off-day on Monday. He also flew back to Seattle ahead of the team charter from Boston, given the club¡¯s 9 p.m. PT landing on Thursday night and quick turnaround to Friday¡¯s series opener vs. Miami.
Entering play, Gilbert had a 2.63 ERA and led all MLB starters with a 38% strikeout rate and 38.1% whiff rate (min. 5 starts), while the Mariners had gone 4-1 in his outings. The one area where he¡¯s had hiccups is working deeper into games, as he¡¯s only pitched in the sixth inning twice, after leading MLB with 208 2/3 innings last year.
Seattle is already without another All-Star in its rotation -- George Kirby, who has been on the IL since Opening Day but has been sidelined since early March with right shoulder inflammation. Kirby rejoined the Mariners in Seattle on Friday and threw a bullpen session, after rehabbing in Arizona after the team departed from Spring Training. But he¡¯s still at least a few weeks away in a best-case scenario.