Mariners receive a boost as Gregory Santos is activated

Gregory Santos is finally set to make his long-awaited debut for the Seattle Mariners, after coming off the 60-day Injured List.

The Seattle Mariners continue to hope they can find a way to dig themselves out of a slump, which has seen them go just 5-12 in their past 17 games and lose their last six series. As a result, they have also seen their 10.0 game lead at the top of the AL West shrink to just 2.0 games ahead of the now surging Houston Astros.

If Mariners fans are looking for some positivity, there has at least been some good news these past couple of days. On Sunday, it was confirmed Julio Rodríguez’s MRI had come back clean, while Logan Gilbert was named to his first ever All-Star Game.

The good news continued on Monday, with the announcement that Gregory Santos has been reinstated from the 60-day Injured List. The corresponding move saw starting pitcher Emerson Hancock optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, with the Mariners 40-man roster now full at 40 players.

Nightmare beginning for Santos with the Mariners

Acquired in a trade from the Chicago White Sox ahead of this season, Santos’ time in Seattle couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start. He was shut down during spring training and eventually had to go to the Injured List, due to a right latissimus dorsi strain.

As part of the 24-year-old’s rehab, he made two appearances in Everett and Tacoma respectively. For what it’s worth, he pitched a scoreless inning in each appearance and threw a combined two strikeouts.

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The Mariners will of course be hoping to now see more of what Santos showed during his breakout campaign last season in Chicago. He produced a 3.39 ERA, 2.65 FIP and 1.296 WHIP in 66.1 combined innings for the White Sox (spread over 60 appearances).

Breaking this down further, the righty had the lowest barrel rate in the Majors last year at 1.5 percent. In addition, his 17 Run Value on his slider was second-most among all pitchers.

In this respect, Santos’ best pitch is his slider, which averaged 92 mph in 2023. He also has an effective sinker and fastball however, with both averaging 99 mph last year.

Looking for more of the same in Seattle

The bullpen will certainly benefit from the boost of adding the Dominican Republic native. Although to be fair, they haven’t been too bad all things considered, particularly given that they are without Matt Brash for the year.

Yes, as of Tuesday morning the Mariners relievers’ team ERA of 3.74 only ranks 12th in the Majors, down from fourth last year, when they were at 3.48. However, in 2024 they are also tied third-best with both a 1.15 WHIP and 103 walks, as well as fourth with a .214 opposing team batting average.

Now, it’s a case of Santos settling in, staying healthy and proving last year was a sign of things to come. If so, he should compliment a bullpen which includes the likes of Andrés Muñoz, Tayler Saucedo, Trent Thornton and Austin Voth.

As much as Santos does help the ball club, the reality is it’s the offense which needs to be better. How do you see the lineup doing during the remaining 70 regular season games for the Mariners? Will it improve, or continue performing at a similar level? Let us know in the comments section below.