Despite speculation, the Mariners don't seem to plan to utilize their top pitching prospect in the bullpen.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners entered Tuesday coming off a trade deadline where it added right-handed hitting outfielder Taylor Ward and right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez to the roster.
Neither of the pair had a solid debut for the M's, which resulted in an 8-0 win for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
As a result, the Mariner are now 55-59 and 3.5 games back in the American League West. They remain 2.0 games back in the wild card.
Despite the way the team played with the two in the fold, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto was optimistic about the team's outlook in a news scrum before the game Tuesday.
While Dipoto offered some clarity on how the trade deadline played out for Seattle, he also expanded on the team's plans for its top pitching prospect.
The first of two trades the Mariners made was sending starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox. That was the deal that netted Seattle Dominguez.
The trade puts an end to Seattle's ongoing experiment this season with a six-man starting rotation and occasional piggyback setup. It also raised questions on what the team plans to do with left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson, who's currently ranked as the No. 5 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline.
Anderson, in his first minor league season, has been arguably the best hurler at any level in the minors. General manager Justin Hollander has already stated that Anderson is currently No. 6 on the Mariners' starting rotation depth chart, and both him and Dipoto have repeatedly stated that the team envisions him being in the majors at some point this season.
There's also been speculation that Seattle could potentially test out Anderson in the bullpen in the minor leagues before bringing him up for the same role in the majors for the final stretch of the regular season and, potentially, the playoffs.
That setup is similar to what they did with Logan Evans, who made his major league debut last year, made 15 starts and is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery.
"We're not gonna put Kade in the bullpen," Dipoto said Tuesday. "He's the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues. I think he leads the minor leagues in everything. Not the (Double-A) Texas League, but the minor leagues. He is trending in every way you can. There's extra velocity, the precision has come so far even since the day he signed. He's doing everything we possibly expect or ask him. We want to build his innings. I think he's at 82 (on Tuesday). For us to put him in the bullpen right now would be irresponsible for his future development."
Dipoto said the team could talk about "more creative things" when the rosters expand in September and if the team doesn't need an extra starting pitcher.
Dipoto didn't expand on what "creative things" the team could or would explore if Anderson is brought up without an immediate need for another starter.
Anderson currently has a 1.20 ERA and has struck out 119 batters in 82.1 innings pitched across 16 starts with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.
The Mariners will play the Tigers again on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. PT.
