Injury Nightmare Over! Troy Taylor Gets Green Light to Resume Throwing, Boosting Mariners Playoff Hopes
Going into spring training, the Seattle Mariners had very few injury concerns lingering from last season.
Reliever Matt Brash, still recovering from Tommy John surgery, is expected to return in April (barring setbacks). Reliever Gregory Santos and starting pitcher Luis Castillo are also both ready to go after ending the year on the injured list. But there was a new injury report that popped up in the days leading to the Mariners first day of spring training on Feb. 12.
In a news conference held via Zoom on Feb. 3, Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto shared that reliever Troy Taylor was dealing wit a right lat strain and would miss the beginning of spring training and possibly part of the regular season.
It turns out the injury was a lot less severe than originally thought. The Seattle Times’ Mariners beat writer Ryan Divish reported that Taylor was cleared to resume throwing Feb. 14 — just three days into spring training.
Taylor was one of the biggest in-season call-ups for the Mariners in 2024. He was promoted directly from the Double-A Arkansas Travelers on Aug. 10 and made his debut on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 11.
Taylor played his way into a high-leverage position in Seattle’s bullpen and became one of the team’s most reliable relievers in the final month-and-a-half of the season.
Taylor posted a 3.72 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched across 21 appearances.
Taylor’s return to health also means that there’s one less bullpen position up for grabs. And it will be interesting to see who steps up to join Taylor and the rest of the Mariners relievers in the major league bullpen.
