SEATTLE -- George Kirby hasn¡¯t had much to smile about over the past month, which made the wide grin he was sporting all afternoon on Friday at T-Mobile Park that much sweeter for the Mariners¡¯ starting pitcher.
Kirby, who has spent the past month working his way back from right shoulder inflammation at the club¡¯s Spring Training facility in Arizona, transitioned his rehab to Seattle and threw a bullpen session before the Mariners began a five-game homestand.
¡°Six weeks felt like a year,¡± Kirby said. ¡°So it¡¯s just good to see everybody.¡±
Asked what he wanted to see from himself in the home bullpen on Friday, Kirby said: ¡°No soreness. That¡¯s about it.¡±
The next step would be a live batting practice, which could come as soon as Monday¡¯s off-day.
¡°I'll probably try and tick it up, just to see what it feels like,¡± Kirby said. ¡°I mean, honestly, right now, I'm just trying to go through throwing without any pain or soreness, and I've had a lot of that recently, so it's been good.¡±
The soreness that Kirby mentioned isn¡¯t new, he said, but rather, something he¡¯d continued to deal with upon beginning his throwing program in late March, two weeks after he was initially shut down.
¡°It sucks, but I want to be as healthy as possible,¡± Kirby said. ¡°So, I¡¯m being smart and listening to my body. I don¡¯t want to be on the IL again, so I¡¯m trying to do as much as I can.¡±
The Mariners still don¡¯t have a timeline on Kirby¡¯s return, but the calendar mathematics of continuing to build arm strength, then going through a multi-start Minor League rehab assignment and reaching somewhere in the 80-pitch range before returning suggests that -- without setbacks -- he¡¯s probably still at least a month away.
And then there¡¯s the extra precaution that the Mariners are taking with the 2023 All-Star.
¡°Just making sure that, as he builds volume, he's maintaining stamina,¡± Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. ¡°That he doesn't have any recurrence of the inflammation that we saw and the discomfort that we saw in the spring. Right now, he feels good.¡±
Hollander also provided extensive injury updates on the rest of the organization, as he typically does at the beginning of each homestand.
Santos placed on IL
Beyond Kirby, the most notable injury development from Friday was that Gregory Santos will undergo right knee surgery on Tuesday in Chicago. Santos had been dealing with the issue and working through conservative care before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma last Wednesday.
Shortly after, Santos sought a second opinion away from the team, then he was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday.
Hollander called the procedure ¡°a cartilage cleanup,¡± and said that the Mariners expect him back at some point this year, but they ¡°just don¡¯t know when.¡±
¡°The second opinion really didn't find anything different than what we found,¡± Hollander said. ¡°But Gregory felt more comfortable with the idea that just trying to take care of a cartilage cleanup may give him more confidence and where he's at physically.¡±
Brash set for ¡®pivot¡¯ outings
The Mariners plan to be more aggressive with the next steps for Matt Brash¡¯s rehab outings at Tacoma, specifically via game circumstances. Brash will work in a few ¡°pivot¡± pockets -- entering in the middle of an inning rather than for a clean inning -- before shortening the time between outings.
Brash, who is nearly one year removed from Tommy John surgery and who was at T-Mobile Park on Friday, has been pitching every three to four days with the Rainiers. But he likely won¡¯t throw back-to-back days before being activated.
¡°Our usage with Matt at the beginning of this active period of the 2025 season will not mirror his usage in the 2023 season, where he's pitching three out of four [days] or back-to-backs, right away,¡± Hollander said. ¡°We are going to have to ramp him up and be cognizant that he is coming back from Tommy John.¡±
More updates
? RHP Jackson Kowar and RHP Trevor Gott (both recovering from Tommy John surgery) could begin rehab assignments with Tacoma next week, and they will likely last for the full 30 days allotted.
? OF Jonny Farmelo (torn right ACL) will play in his first game since suffering the injury last June this Tuesday at High-A Everett. The plan for the Mariners¡¯ No. 6 prospect (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 92 overall) will be to play four days per week with a DH day mixed in, then move to five days per week.