It looked as if Logan Gilbert was on his way toward another dominant outing. The right-hander had gone through three perfect innings against the Miami Marlins, striking out three batters and needing just 29 pitches to get through those frames. All of a sudden, Casey Lawrence came into the game in the fourth inning. It's safe to say that sounded alarm bells around Seattle Mariners fans at that point.
Sure enough, it was revealed that Gilbert left the game after just three innings with what the Mariners announced as right forearm tightness. While there won't be a complete diagnosis until he undergoes an MRI, forearm tightness can sometimes be a precursor to a major injury.
Anytime a pitcher of Gilbert's caliber suffers an injury, it'll be a major blow to whatever team he's on. But for the Mariners in particular, a major injury is one they really can ill-afford.
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Logan Gilbert injury is one the Mariners in particular can ill-afford
This Mariners team is built around its starting pitching. A starting five consisting of Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo might be the best in the American League, if not the majors entirely, when healthy. However, Kirby has yet to pitch this season due to injury, and now there's a chance Gilbert might join him on the sidelines.
The only reason MLB fans had to expect the Mariners to be in the postseason hunt was because of this lethal rotation. Now, with the chance that 40 percent of it will be on the sidelines for who knows how long, how much hope can Mariners fans realistically have in this team staying afloat in the AL postseason race?
Seattle's offense has been better than expected to start the season, but how sustainable is their early-season offensive success when Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore have been their best hitters? Julio Rodriguez should improve as the weather warms, as he seemingly always does, but there simply isn't enough talent, barring shocking leaps from guys like Polanco and Moore, to expect Seattle to score runs consistently enough.
Given their lack of offensive firepower, the Mariners need their rotation to be dominant and healthy. Gilbert, a pitcher who finished sixth in the AL Cy Young award balloting last season and is as reliable as any in the sport to take the ball every fifth day, was supposed to lead the way. Now, all Mariners fans can do is hope for the best when he undergoes his MRI.