TORONTO -- Bryan Woo is back, at least in terms of being eligible to pitch in the Mariners’ next postseason series.
Seattle added its electric right-hander to its 26-man roster for the American League Championship Series on Sunday morning, hours before first pitch of Game 1.
Woo, who has been recovering from pectoral inflammation, is not expected to be available in any capacity early in the best-of-seven series vs. the Blue Jays, sources told MLB.com. But he could be a huge boost later in the series.
Manager Dan Wilson then revealed that Woo will throw a live batting practice on Monday.
"He's at a point where he's feeling a lot better,” Wilson said, “and we’re hoping that as we get into this series, we'll get a chance to see him later.”
Wilson also held off naming a Game 2 starter, saying that the club will want to gauge how the rest of its pitching staff comes out of Game 1 -- especially after the bullpen covered 10 innings in the ALDS Game 5 win over Detroit, including 33 pitches over two-plus innings from Logan Gilbert and 15 pitches over 1 1/3 frames from Luis Castillo.
Both of those workhorses would’ve been the clearest choice for Game 1 other than Bryce Miller on short rest. But such were the stakes in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the AL Division Series in order to advance. It’s possible that Castillo could start Monday, given that his workload wasn’t as cumbersome.
“You could make that case for a couple guys that threw in that ballgame,” Wilson said. “That's why today is kind of a day to figure out exactly what we're going to do for tomorrow.”
Woo most recently threw an up-and-down bullpen session on Friday, but he didn’t appear to increase his intensity until the very end.
“He's made steady progress and has hit some of the milestones we were hoping for,” Wilson said. “He felt good in his last bullpen and the velos were where we were hoping.”
With a longer series ahead, the Mariners opted to go with 13 pitchers and 13 position players, making third baseman Ben Williamson the odd man out with Woo’s addition. The rest of Seattle’s pitching staff from the AL Division Series remained intact.
The other notable swap that the Mariners made was for infielder Miles Mastrobuoni, who took outfielder Luke Raley’s spot. Mastrobuoni has played in the Majors for only one game since early August -- on the last day of the regular season -- but he was on Seattle’s taxi squad. Mastrobuoni is an ideal bench bat for late in games, given that he bats left-handed, plays multiple infield/outfield positions and is a plus baserunner.
Mastrobuoni played in 76 games for the Mariners during the regular season, slashing .250/.324/.296 (.620 OPS) over 175 plate appearances.
Raley appeared in four of Seattle’s five ALDS games but only as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner, going 0-for-4.
The Mariners also opted to retain three catchers again, as rookie Harry Ford remained on the roster. Wilson has preferred to include the rookie because he provides insurance should there be an injury to Cal Raleigh or Mitch Garver. Ford also allows for Wilson to comfortably pinch-hit Garver later in games for that reason.
On the Toronto side, the Blue Jays will be without two-time All-Star Bo Bichette, who has been sidelined since Sept. 6 with a left knee sprain. Toronto had been hopeful that the shortstop could return, but he experienced visible discomfort when running the bases on Saturday.
Beyond the Bichette decision, the Blue Jays added veteran starters Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, who weren’t on their ALDS roster. The two right-handers will take the roster spots of Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl as the Blue Jays gear up for a longer series.