With Hancock nearing return, could he settle back into the 'pen?

SEATTLE -- Emerson Hancock looked like he had pitched his way out of the debate that defined his 2025 season. Now, thanks only to ill luck, he might be back in it.

Will he end up back in the bullpen?

Hancock’s breakout 2026 campaign hit a snag two batters into his Aug. 28 start in Toronto, when he fielded a first-inning grounder up the first-base line and twisted awkwardly as he rose to tag Nathan Luke out. The right-hander stayed in the game and threw 61 more pitches, ultimately exiting after five innings of work, but two days later, the Mariners opted to put him on the 15-day injured list with a left adductor strain.

With the move retroactive to Aug. 29, the club was hoping Hancock would be ready to return as soon as possible, Sunday in West Sacramento. Soon, though, it became apparent that goal wouldn’t be met. Hancock didn’t throw until this past weekend, then threw his first bullpen Wednesday.

Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Rangers, manager Dan Wilson said that the session was “pretty good,” but that it wouldn’t lead to an immediate return.

“He still did feel it occasionally, so we’re going to see how he responds here over the next couple of days and go from there,” Wilson said. “All in all, it was a positive step forward.”

If this were June or July, Hancock -- who went into the All-Star break with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP -- would be able to get a normal runway to build up to a rehab assignment. A week and a half into September, there’s not enough time for that, especially if he’s still dealing with lingering effects of his injury as his pitch count rises. Wilson said that he’ll throw another bullpen in two or three days, at which point the staff will discuss the next steps.

That discussion will include whether the Mariners want to move Hancock to the bullpen, at least for the end of the season.

“I think anything’s possible,” Wilson said. “We’re making sure that he’s healthy first. Then, understanding how to plug him in and get him back, either into the rotation or in a different role.”

It’s a question the Mariners are used to with Hancock, their first-round Draft pick in 2020. After making his debut in ‘23, Hancock spent the next two years as a bit of an outsider looking in on Seattle’s star-studded rotation, but that didn’t mean he lacked for outings. In ‘24, a Spring Training injury to Bryan Woo led to Hancock starting the year as the Mariners’ fifth starter before being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

In 2025, the club discussed moving him to the bullpen, but when George Kirby dealt with right shoulder inflammation in Spring Training, Hancock found himself back in the Opening Day rotation. When the rotation returned to health, he was optioned to Tacoma, before returning and ending the year as a reliever.

This season, it was Bryce Miller on the IL when the season started, and once again, Hancock slotted into the rotation. But while in 2024 and ‘25, Hancock struggled, posting a 5.01 ERA as a starter, this year he shined. Boasting a fastball that ranked in the 99th percentile of run value and relying more on his sweeper than his changeup, Hancock posted a 2.78 ERA through May and turned into Seattle’s most consistent starter, forcing the club to turn to piggybacks and a six-man rotation when Miller returned.

Now, though, Hancock might need to return to the ‘pen out of necessity, while Seattle’s rotation sits in a much different situation. Luis Castillo was traded away at the Deadline, and was eventually replaced in the rotation by top prospect Kade Anderson, who earned his first Major League win on Wednesday.

Miller started his season red-hot but struggled over the summer, to the point that the club was ready to move him to the bullpen -- right before Hancock’s injury reinserted him to the rotation. Even as a starter, though, Wilson has kept Miller from getting too deep into games, pulling him after 65 pitches in Boston last Wednesday and 3 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Rangers.

How the Mariners finish the season on the mound will be an ongoing question the next three weeks; how it moves forward beyond will be one even longer. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said on Wednesday that the club was planning for Anderson to finish his first professional season at 125 innings or so, which gives him about 25 left. Behind Anderson on the organization’s top prospects list sits Ryan Sloan (No. 2 prospect), who will be pushing for a callup as soon as next season begins.

For Hancock, though, the most pressing question is how quickly he can get back on the mound.