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The Seattle Mariners led Major League Baseball in starting pitchers’ ERA last season (3.38), but the staff suffered a blow on Friday with news that George Kirby has been shut down with shoulder inflammation and will likely begin the 2025 season on the injured list.
The right-hander has made only one appearance in Cactus League play this spring, throwing 20 pitches in one inning of work on Feb. 26. He allowed one run with two walks.
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander announced the decision on Friday, explaining that Kirby underwent an MRI exam after feeling discomfort and not recovering following recent throwing sessions. Imaging found no structural damage, but the inflammation diagnosed means Kirby will need to rest, something that goes against his competitive nature.
“Much to George’s chagrin, we are going to take the ball out of his hands,” Hollander told reporters, via the Seattle Times. “George wants to keep going, but he’s going to lose this argument. We need the inflammation out. So we will shut George down and work on getting the inflammation out.”
Kirby previously dealt with shoulder inflammation during his minor league career. As the Mariners’ first-round pick (No. 20 overall) out of Elon, he was shut down in preseason camp during 2020’s COVID-shortened season. Kirby later went on the injured list with shoulder fatigue after making eight starts for Single-A Everett.
Hollander expects Kirby to miss approximately two weeks as he recovers and then builds back up toward a starter’s workload.
“I would not anticipate that he’s ready for the first 10 days, two weeks of the season, [and] that he is on IL at the start of the year,” Hollander added, via MLB.com. “We will build him up in a really thoughtful way to make sure that he is not dealing with something for the entirety of the season.”
Last season, Kirby compiled a 3.53 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 191 innings (sixth-most among American League starting pitchers) and a 14-11 record. That helped Seattle to the MLB lead in team ERA at 3.49 (tied with the Atlanta Braves).
Fortunately for the Mariners, the pitching staff is deep enough to prompt rumblings that the team should deal some pitchers away to help an offense that batted .224 with a .687 OPS as a team in 2024.
Emerson Hancock (4.75 ERA, 5.8 strikeouts per nine innings) is expected to take Kirby’s spot in Seattle’s rotation, joining Logan Gilbert (3.23 ERA, 220 Ks), Luis Castillo (3.64, 175 Ks), Bryce Miller (2.94, 171 Ks) and Bryan Woo (2.89, 101 Ks).
The Mariners begin the 2025 MLB season on March 27, hosting the Athletics to begin a four-game set.
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