The Mariners' ace's status for the American League Divisional Series is still uncertain after he threw off the mound
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners found out Thursday who they'll play in the American League Divisional Series.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 in Game 3 of the wild card-series and advanced to the ALDS to take on the Mariners. First pitch between Seattle and Detroit will be either 1:08 p.m. PT or 5:38 p.m. PT on Saturday, depending on who wins Game 3 of the other AL wild card series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
One thing that isn't yet certain is whether the Mariners' ace, Bryan Woo, will be available for the ALDS.
Woo has been nursing right pectoral inflammation since his start against the Houston Astros on Sept. 19. He missed the team's final two series of the regular season against the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, and his status for the ALDS has been in question since.
Woo threw a live bullpen before Seattle's intersquad scrimmage on Thursday. The two hitters standing in for the session, Harry Ford and Leo Rivas, didn't swing.
Woo's focus in the bullpen was building up his velocity back to being game-like. From that perspective, he the 2025 All-Star feels Thursday was a success.
"Positive day," Woo said after throwing his bullpen Thursday. "Still not where I want to be in terms of game speed of everything. But in terms of how everything's progressed, happy with it. Considering a week ago, I wasn't even throwing yet. A week from now, hopefully, we'll be in a better spot. Still taking it day-by-day."
Woo said he didn't know what the next step for him was after the bullpen session, and that he would have to wait and see what trainers said. He also wasn't certain what he status would be for the ALDS, which was echoed by manager Dan Wilson earlier in the day.
Woo said the main goal for him now is to build back up to game shape rather than lingering pain and ailment from the injury itself. He's still receiving treatment every day to mitigate the symptoms.
"I think it's just building up correctly. You want to be smart about it," Woo said. "It doesn't do any good to just recklessly come out and throw as hard as I can, just to do it just to see a number. It's got to be done the right way. So, just putting my trust in the coaching staff, training staff. Listen to what they say. They were happy with today, so I'm happy."
If Woo is unable to go in the ALDS, it leaves question what the team would do for a potential Game 4 or 5. Emerson Hancock and Bryce Miller are both currently on the team. There was speculation Miller would move to the bullpen, but if Woo can't go keeping him in the rotation would be a logical action to take. Hancock was moved from the rotation to the bullpen earlier this season, but made 15 starts this year and is capable of going multiple innings in a bullpen day.
Logan Evans is on the postseason taxi squad, but is eligible to be activated to the postseason roster due to being on the 40-man roster on the Sept. 1 cut-off date. His last outing was a three-inning appearance out of the bullpen against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 27.
Woo posted a 2.94 ERA this season with 198 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched across 30 starts.
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