Right-handed pitcher Carlos Vargas threw off the mound at T-Mobile Park for the first time since last year.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners have been working with a short bullpen for the majority of year due to a combination of a six-man starting rotation and injuries to the relievers.
The Mariners attempted to fortify the bullpen with the trade acquisition of Seranthony Dominguez from the Chicago White Sox, who had a poor debut in the team's 8-0 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson expressed optimism after Tuesday's loss that Dominguez, who made his first appearance in three days, will be able to bounce back and acclimate to his new surroundings.
Regardless of how Dominguez performs in the future, the Mariners appear set to get a boost to the bullpen in the coming days.
Right-handed reliever Carlos Vargas, who's been out the entire season due to a right lat strain, threw a bullpen off the mound at T-Mobile Park for the first time since suffering his injury in spring training. It was a "live" bullpen in terms of batters being in the box, but not swinging.
Vargas utilized his full arsenal in the bullpen, showing his fastball that registered in the upper-90 mile-per-hour range and his secondaries.
"It felt good," Vargas said via interpreter Freddy Llanos after his bullpen Wednesday. "I'm starting to get the feeling of every pitch."
Vargas is one of three relievers currently on the injured list, along with right-handers Matt Brash (right lat strain) and Cooper Criswell (right pec strain).
Vargas was one of the primary innings-eaters for Seattle last season. In his first full major league season, he posted a 3.97 ERA and struck out 54 batters in 77 innings of work across 70 appearances. He had the third-most outings on the team last year behind left-hander Gabe Speier (76) and right-hander Eduard Bazardo (73).
In Vargas' absence, the Mariners have relied on Bazardo and left-hander Jose A. Ferrer for a healthy chunk of appearances. Bazardo is currently first on the team with 52 appearances and Ferrer is second with 51.
Seattle has also had to work around the various IL stints several high-leverage arms on the bullpen have suffered. This current stint on the shelf is the second this season for Brash and Speier spent three weeks out of action in May due to left shoulder inflammation.
"(Vargas) was a guy we could talk about in a lot of situations and versatile," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Wednesday. "We talk about versatility in position players and being able to play all over the field, but for bullpen guys to be able to pitch in different parts of a ball game is huge. Good, quality innings anywhere we put him. ... To get him back, clearly, is huge. And we're getting closer to that."
The next step for Vargas will be to go on the rehab assignment with one of Seattle's minor league affiliates.
