The Mariners are set to give Kade Anderson his first shot in the majors.
Seattle plans to promote the pitching prospect for a Saturday start against the Cubs, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The move will require the club to clear room on the active roster by taking a pitcher off it, and Seattle also has to create a 40-man opening.
That can be handled by moving Matt Brash to the 60-day injured list, which would not change his return timetable. Brash has already been out more than 60 days because of a lat strain.
Jerry Dipoto had already hinted that Anderson was getting close. Earlier this month, the Mariners president of baseball operations said the club would wait for a rotation opening before bringing him up.
“We’re not going to put Kade in the bullpen. He’s the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues,” Dipoto said in early August (link via Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).
He also described Anderson as “the next starter up” behind Seattle’s front five after the team traded Luis Castillo to the White Sox.
The promotion appears to line up with another six-man rotation in Seattle. The Mariners are not currently managing any injuries among their top five starters, but George Kirby and Bryce Miller have both been hit hard this month. If Seattle wanted to stay on a five-man schedule, it could move one of them to the bullpen, though that would come as a surprise considering both pitchers’ track records.
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The complication is obvious: good players coming back usually mean somebody else has to move. Seattle will have to sort out the roster when those returns come due, and the choices could touch both everyday roles and relief depth. The Mariners are getting healthier at the right time, but the next step may be less about who is returning and more about who gets squeezed out to make room. [Read more 🡒]