Mariners facing prospect of no Bryan Woo for ALDS vs. Tigers

Bryan Woo provided a much anticipated update on Thursday, but while his rehab is going well he isn’t as far along as the Mariners would like.

The Seattle Mariners now know who their opponent will be for the AL Division Series, after the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Thursday. What isn’t quite so clear, is if Bryan Woo will be available for any point of the series versus the Tigers which begins on Saturday afternoon or early evening at T-Mobile Park.

Woo has been out of action since leaving his outing prematurely on Sept. 19, in a game against the Houston Astros which the Mariners won 4-0. It turned out that he had suffered some pectoral tightness and made the smart decision to come out after five innings rather than push his luck.

The righty skipped his scheduled final start of the season and has since been battling to return in time for the beginning of the Mariners’ playoff run, which they hope will go all the way to the World Series. We finally got an update on Thursday which, while encouraging to an extent, still doesn’t answer the question of when he will be available.

Bryan Woo has positive throwing session but still taking it day-by-day

Woo threw 25 pitches off the mound on Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Park, which was an important part of the process of his rehab. Afterwards he was asked by the media how the session went and he said:

“A positive day. Still not where I want to be in terms of game speed and everything, but in terms of how everything’s progressed (I’m) happy with it. Considering a week ago I wasn’t even throwing yet, and then a week from now I’ll hopefully be in a better spot. So still taking it day-by-day in terms of looking at it that way. A lot of positives.”

Woo was asked if he could put a percentage on how close to full fitness he was. He said:

“I don’t know about a number, but I just know I’m getting closer. That was a big step (throwing off the mound). I guess I’m still not at game speed with everything, but in terms of how everything has progressed, I’m happy.”

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Next step of rehab with the Mariners is unclear

What was really telling was when the Oakland native was asked what the next step in his recovery process is. He said:

“That’s a good question and I don’t know how to (answer it). I’ll have to ask the training staff and see how they feel about how today went and see how far off they think I am from getting back into a game.”

The takeaway from all of this is that if we assume Woo won’t be available for at least another week, it means the earliest he can return is a potential Game 5 of the ALDS versus the Tigers, at home on Oct. 10. In other words, he might not be back until the AL Championship Series, pending the Mariners advancing to this stage of the playoffs.

Clearly not having Woo available yet is a big disappointment for the Mariners, especially when it seemed things were looking good after the decision to not put him on the Injured List. Not that the team is doing the wrong thing by being cautious with his recovery, but not many people expected the sequence of events which has followed.

The 2025 All-Star was undoubtedly the Mariners’ best starter this season, as he led the rotation with a 4.3 WAR, 2.94 ERA, 128 ERA+ and 0.927 WHIP. He also proved to be an iron man as he began this season with 25 consecutive starts of 6.0+ innings and two-or-fewer walks, which was the longest streak to begin a season since Cy Young did it in 30 consecutive starts to begin the 1905 season.

In fact if you filter it by games only, Woo has the longest such streak in Major League history, since Young pitched a few relief outings during his streak. As for the Mariners specifically, his streak is also the longest one of 6.0+ inning starts to begin a season in franchise history.

Mariners ‘ alternatives to start Game 1 against the Tigers

With Woo’s status still uncertain, the odds would seem to favor Logan Gilbert getting the nod in Game 1 on Saturday against the Tigers. While injuries compromised his 2025 campaign, this is still the same pitcher who got the opening day start and has been pitching more like his old self of late with a 2.30 ERA, 25.4 percent strikeout rate and 1.06 WHIP in five September starts.

This scenario would then lead to the potential for Luis Castillo to start Game 2 on Sunday followed by George Kirby in Game 3 next Tuesday, which in fairness is still a pretty strong rotation. However it all plays out though, Woo has the utmost confidence in his teammates as he said:

“I have all the faith in the world in our pitchers – starters, relievers, whoever it is. They’re more than capable of doing the job like they have done throughout the year and especially come playoff time, everybody seems to have taken a little bit of a step up. So yes I’ve got all the faith in the world.”

As per Tim Booth and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, the Mariners are expected to announce their starting rotation for the ALDS at some point on Friday. As for their ALDS roster as a whole this does not have to be confirmed until Saturday, so we wait to find out if it includes Woo or if his roster spot will be taken by an extra bullpen arm.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

How much faith do you have in the Mariners beating the Tigers in a five-game series if Woo does not pitch at all? As for the righty himself, are you confident he will get the opportunity to feature at some point during these playoffs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.