HOUSTON -- An MRI that Bryan Woo underwent Saturday morning revealed he has “minor inflammation” in his right pectoral muscle, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Seattle’s second game vs. the Astros at Daikin Park.
But the club believes that its All-Star pitcher will avoid the injured list.
The Mariners will take the next few days to see how Woo responds to treatment before assessing the status of his next scheduled start, which if they remain on turn, would be Thursday against the Rockies. The club could also use its final off-day on Monday to re-slot its rotation and push Woo back.
“It’s really just kind of a day-to-day thing,” Wilson said. “We'll continue to assess it each day. We'll know a little bit more in the next 24-48 hours depending on how he responds. And that's really what we know at this point.”
If Woo were placed on the IL -- which is 15 days for a pitcher -- he would be down for that full allotment, even including the postseason, as IL stints are not re-set at the end of the regular season. If the club were to backdate a potential stint to Saturday, the earliest that Woo could return would be on Sunday, Oct. 5, which would be beyond the Wild Card Series and the same day as Game 2 of both American League Division Series.
But again, the Mariners don’t anticipate that Woo will be placed on the IL.
“We'll let the trainers figure out the best, best course of action at this point,” Wilson said. “But I think today was, in a lot of ways, good news. And we'll just continue to assess it. They'll put together a good plan for him.”
If they remain on turn, the Mariners could deploy a bullpen game on Thursday vs. Colorado, as all their relief arms would be coming off Monday’s off-day, and the Rockies have MLB’s worst record. If they do so -- or use a spot-starter then needed a fresh arm at any point -- the same transaction rules of optioning a player to the Minors also apply as those for the IL, meaning any pitcher sent down would need to be down for 15 days unless there’s an injury.
If the Mariners re-slot, they could conceivably push back Woo’s turn to Saturday vs. the Dodgers, which would be the penultimate day of the regular season.
It’s possible that, by then, they’d have clarification on their postseason fate, which would make that game inconsequential. But it’s just as possible that they could still be battling for the division title, a Wild Card spot or even the No. 2 seed in the AL, which they currently hold and would come with a bye into the ALDS, where they’d also have home-field advantage.
Seattle entered Saturday with a one-game lead in the AL West over Houston, which was clinging to a one-game lead over hard-charging Cleveland for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
All of these factors are why the Mariners will remain in a holding pattern on Woo for now.
“He'll obviously want to get out [there] as soon as possible,” Wilson said. “But that's what we know at this point.”
Beyond next week, Woo would easily be the Mariners’ Game 1 postseason starter, regardless of where they’d begin the playoffs and when. Ensuring that he’s ready for what the club hopes is a deep October run is paramount.
“He has put together an incredible season in terms of his health and being healthy all season long,” Wilson said.
Woo first experienced what he described as pectoral “tightness” during his fifth and final inning in Friday’s 4-0 win, in which he carved through 17 batters with just one hit and one walk to go with seven strikeouts. He alerted Wilson and Seattle’s athletic training staff immediately, then attempted a few warmup tosses before the sixth before ultimately exiting.
Woo was an All-Star this year and has been one of the sport’s most durable starters, with a team- and career-high 186 2/3 innings, over which he’s compiled a 2.94 ERA. The Mariners have gone 17-13 in his starts.