SEATTLE -- Bryan Woo stood smiling in the home bullpen at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday afternoon, which was perhaps a positive sign as the Mariners’ electric right-hander works back from pectoral inflammation ahead of the American League Division Series.
Yet, the club still won’t ascertain his status for the best-of-five series that begins Saturday in Seattle until he actually throws off a mound -- which will come during a bullpen session on Thursday.
Asked directly if he’s optimistic that Woo will be on the club’s 26-man ALDS roster, which must be submitted on Saturday morning, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said: “Yeah, at this point. And again, it's just continuing to take it day by day and assess. And I do believe that we're in a good spot with that.”
Woo is not expected to pitch in either of the two scrimmages that the Mariners are holding this week, which they’ve opened to fans. That part is notable in that doing so would’ve pitted him against live hitters.
Woo was seen doing very light dry throwing on Wednesday -- without a ball -- essentially going through an abbreviated form of his mechanics off a mound. After that, he made a few light tosses while shagging fly balls during batting practice.
He’s expected to speak after the bullpen session on Thursday, which should come before the Mariners’ 5 p.m. PT scrimmage.
“It seems like things are going according to plan,” Wilson said. “I think he'll get off the mound on Thursday, and so, [we will get] a chance to hear how he comes back on that on Friday and whatnot.”
The schedule’s mathematics within his recovery suggest that Woo will not pitch in Games 1 or 2. Logic would suggest that the club will want to see him throw at least two bullpens before pitching in a game again, and preferably against live hitters at some point, especially given the playoff stakes.
As for who the Mariners will turn to in Games 1 and 2, Seattle isn’t expected to make those decisions until later this week, potentially not until Friday. Woo’s status will whittle down their list to Logan Gilbert, George Kirby or Luis Castillo for the first two games of the ALDS.
Gilbert has been the most consistent of that trio and was their Opening Day starter, though Kirby and Castillo each finished on a huge high note, with a combined 1.93 ERA over their final four starts each. Those two have been much better at T-Mobile Park, too, with a combined 2.91 ERA at home compared to a 4.90 ERA on the road.
The Mariners slotted Kirby then Gilbert over their final regular-season series last weekend, which could hint at how they’ll roll out their playoff rotation. But they will also be coming off five off-days leading into the ALDS, so reworking the order wouldn’t have much impact on their routines. Castillo most recently pitched in the AL West clincher last Wednesday.
“You take everything into consideration,” Wilson said. “It includes thinking about what the playoff roster might look like as well. Lots of different factors to take into account. And I think that is an advantage to having this week is to kind of see how things play out with opponents, with where you are as a club, all the different things that come into play.”
Other roster decisions
The Mariners are still debating whether to carry a third catcher (which would be rookie Harry Ford) and if they’d benefit from including another lefty in their bullpen (which would be Caleb Ferguson).
As a September callup, Ford gave Wilson the luxury of using Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver in the same lineups -- which would presumably be the case if they were to face a lefty starter, such as Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. Ford’s presence would also allow them to pinch-hit Garver late in games if a righty reliever is inserted and not risk losing their backup catcher if Raleigh were to suffer an injury.
As for the lefty reliever situation, they now have one of the sport’s most effective in Gabe Speier, who doesn’t have pronounced reverse splits (.615 OPS from righties, .516 OPS from lefties), and as such, is a legitimate high-leverage arm in any late-innings pockets.
That’s where carrying Ferguson could come into play, as he’d be deployed as more of a left-on-left specialist. The only other lefty on their taxi squad is Austin Kitchen, who spent the entire season at Triple-A Tacoma (3.36 ERA in 69 2/3 innings). Some of this decision could be determined by which team they face, as the Tigers deploy many platoons while the Guardians have a bevy of lefty hitters.
Start times revealed for Games 1 and 2
The start time for Game 1 hinges on the outcome of the Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Red Sox. If Boston advances, Saturday’s contest between the Mariners and either the Tigers or Guardians will be at 1:08 p.m. PT on FOX, and if it’s New York, it would start at 5:38 p.m. PT on FS1. Game 2, regardless of Wild Card outcomes, will be at 5:03 p.m. PT.