The Seattle Mariners are navigating choppy waters this spring, dealing with both public criticism from a former player and now a significant injury to a rotation cornerstone.
Justin Turner, whom the Mariners acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at last year’s trade deadline, ripped the franchise for not adding an impact slugger during a free agency period that featured Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander, and Alex Bregman.
“The fact that they missed the playoffs by one game, and didn’t go out and add an impact bat or two when you have the best pitching staff in baseball, just seems absurd to me,” Turner told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Turner wanted to stay in Seattle but wasn’t offered a contract. Instead, he signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.
“Honestly, as much as I wanted to be back there, if I was the only piece they brought back in, I would be saying the same thing: What the hell are we doing? Are you trying?” Turner added. “There’s not going to be a better time to go for it. So, I don’t know what they’re doing. I’m very confused. It’s a head-scratcher for me.”
Turner’s frustration stems from a glaring offensive deficiency. Seattle’s lineup finished 29th in batting average (.224), 22nd in OPS (.687), 21st in runs scored (676), and first in strikeouts (1,625) last season. This anemic offense stands in stark contrast to one of baseball’s best rotations featuring Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo.
Now, that pitching advantage has taken a significant hit.
Related: ‘Are you trying?’: Former Seattle Mariners player unloads on team for not signing impact slugger
All-Star pitcher most likely to begin season on injured list
The Mariners revealed Friday that Kirby, an All-Star in 2023, has been shut down with shoulder inflammation and will most likely start the season on the 15-day injured list.
“George Kirby has not been feeling great after his outings. In the outings, he’s throwing the ball well — same velocity as you would expect. He just hasn’t felt like he’s bouncing back great. We did an MRI — MRI looks great. No structural concerns whatsoever, and I will repeat that: zero structural concerns. There is some inflammation in there that we need to get out, so much to George’s chagrin, we are going to take the ball out of his hands,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander told reporters, via MLBTradeRumors.com.
Here’s Justin Hollander talking about it pic.twitter.com/rl3sv6Kmeq
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 7, 2025
Hollander added that Kirby’s injury is more of a “week-to-week thing.”
“We just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the big picture of the whole season as opposed to worrying about Opening Day,” Hollander noted.
Mariners fans can breathe a sigh of relief that there’s no structural damage to Kirby’s shoulder, but there is no timetable for his return. It’s the first time Kirby will land on the IL during his career.
In Kirby’s absence, the Mariners can turn to former first-round pick Emerson Hancock, Blas Castano, and Logan Evans.
Kirby is coming off a 2024 where he made 33 starts, throwing 191 innings, while compiling a 3.53 ERA, 104 ERA+, 3.26 WHIP, 1.068 WHIP, striking out 179, while walking just 23 — leading to an MLB-best 1.1 walks per nine innings. However, he did give up an AL-leading 181 hits.
