The Mariners introduced that right-hander Jackson Kowar has been positioned on the 60-day injured listing as a consequence of a tear in his proper UCL. Normal supervisor Justin Hollander informed reporters (together with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Occasions) that Kowar will endure Tommy John surgical procedure subsequent week, so the righty will now be out of motion till across the midpoint of the 2025 season. The 60-day IL placement for Kowar creates a 40-man roster spot for Ryne Stanek, whose signing is now official.
It’s a brutal setback for Kowar, who went into 2024 searching for a contemporary begin. The Royals chosen Kowar thirty third total within the 2018 draft, and considered the righty as certainly one of a number of younger arms that might assist spur the group’s subsequent rivalry window. Sadly, Kowar (and principally all of Kansas Metropolis’s pitchers thus far) has but to point out a lot within the huge leagues, with solely a 9.12 ERA to point out for 74 innings over the past three seasons.
Kowar made eight begins in his 2021 debut season however has since labored solely as a reliever within the majors. The transfer to the bullpen upped his fastball velocity however not a lot else, as batters have continued to tee off on Kowar’s choices. Shaky management has additionally been detrimental to Kowar’s trigger, with a 13.7% stroll charge and a modest 20.1% strikeout charge.
The Royals opted to maneuver on from Kowar in November when he was traded to the Braves for Kyle Wright, and Kowar’s keep in Atlanta lasted simply a few weeks, as he was flipped to the Mariners as a part of the five-player commerce that introduced Jarred Kelenic to Atlanta. From Seattle’s perspective, the commerce moved a great deal of wage off the books at the price of Kelenic, and the M’s bought to select up a few youthful arms in Kowar and Cole Phillips, a second-round decide for the 2022 draft. Sadly, Phillips was already recovering from a TJ surgical procedure and lately needed to endure a second process, whereas Kowar has now additionally been sidelined with the identical surgical procedure.
Information surfaced earlier this week a couple of potential arm harm for Kowar, including to a listing of reliever accidents Seattle has already needed to handle this spring. Gregory Santos has been coping with soreness is his teres main space however is again throwing bullpen periods, whereas Hollander additionally stated that Matt Brash is upping his video games of catch to throws of 90 ft. Brash was lately given the inexperienced gentle to start out throwing once more after a bout of elbow irritation, because it appeared as if he dodged what initially gave the impression to be a way more severe harm. Given all these well being issues, it isn’t stunning the Mariners felt the necessity to spend $4MM on Stanek to strengthen the reduction corps.