SEATTLE -- For the second time this season on the heels of an uneven start, Emerson Hancock has been optioned to the Minors.
The Mariners’ right-hander was sent to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, one day after he surrendered five earned runs on seven hits, three walks and one hit-by-pitch over six innings during a 6-3 loss to the Royals. In a corresponding move, left-handed reliever Joe Jacques was selected from Tacoma.
Jacques will provide coverage for a bullpen that’s seen an extreme workload over the past week, which has coincided with Seattle’s stretch of 17 games in as many days before Monday’s off-day.
But the grander question is what the Mariners will do with Hancock’s rotation spot for its next turn, as Hancock must remain in the Minors for 15 days unless the Mariners make an injury related roster move.
Presumably, rookie Logan Evans would be available to make that start. He last pitched on Saturday for the Rainiers and could conceivably slot in for a start this weekend vs. Pittsburgh for a much softer landing than the Mariners’ series after at Yankee Stadium.
“We're looking at different things, different options,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Wednesday’s game. “I think Emerson, he has thrown the ball well for us and has been pretty consistent for us. This is a chance for him to go down and get some more reps down there in Tacoma. And we're able to get a little help in our bullpen right now, and we'll continue to assess everything else as we go.”
Evans is coming off an outing against Triple-A Round Rock during which he surrendered eight earned runs, easily his most in 16 outings between the Majors and Minors this season. In the big leagues, he’s carried a 3.38 ERA (110 ERA+; league average is 100) in seven starts, first joining the rotation as an injury fill-in in late April.
Hancock had also been an injury fill-in -- at the start of the season -- but had mostly stabilized his spot in the rotation upon returning in mid-April. Over an 11-start stretch, Seattle was 7-4 in his starts, with him carrying a 3.65 ERA. In his three outings since, he’s surrendered 16 earned runs over 15 innings (9.60 ERA), and the Mariners have gone 0-3. He was last optioned to the Minors after his season debut, in which he did not make it out of the first inning.
“I think the biggest thing really is continuing to attack the strike zone, number one,” Wilson said. “And number two, just continuing to be ready, as we've seen that things can change quickly here. And his ability to go down and continue to work on the secondaries, and continuing to pound the strike zone with everything, and the ability to stay ready at any moment's notice is going to be key.”
Jacques has appeared in 26 Triple-A games this season between the Mariners' and Dodgers' organizations, with a 6.19 ERA, 12 walks and 35 strikeouts. He was acquired by the Mariners in exchange for right-hander Will Klein on June 2.