The #Seattle Mariners news from Wednesday (June 28) is not good, as pitcher #Drew Smyly needs to undergo Tommy John Surgery. This means that Smyly won't pitch for the Mariners this season, putting a huge dent in the starting rotation. It was just revealed that Smyly has a torn UCL and will have to go through the season-ending surgery. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for July 6, ruling him out for the rest of 2017 and the first half of the 2018 MLB season.
It was back in Spring Training that Drew Smyly started experiencing what the team called a "soggy arm." He immediately went on the disabled list, got a bit of rest, and began a rehabilitation program in order to return to the mound this season.
The Seattle Mariners had been hoping that he could re-join the starting rotation before the All-Star break in July but it seems like those plans aren't going to be possible now.
Will Drew Smyly ever pitch for the Seattle Mariners?
The Seattle Mariners acquired Drew Smyly from the Tampa Bay Rays during this past offseason. In exchange for Smyly, the Mariners gave up minor-leaguers Carlos Vargas and Ryan Yarbrough, as well as highly-touted outfielder Mallex Smith. Smith is now a starting outfielder for the Rays, putting up some really good numbers in recent weeks. If Mariners fans had a chance to do this trade again, they would likely want Mallex Smith to remain in Seattle.
When the season comes to a close, Drew Smyly will be arbitration eligible again, putting the team in a difficult position.
Will the front office offer him a deal, even though he won't return until midway through the 2018 MLB season? Or have Seattle Mariners fans already seen Smyly in the team uniform for the last time?
Can the Seattle Mariners still make the MLB Playoffs?
Entering the 2017 MLB season, the Seattle Mariners were one of the teams favored to make the MLB Playoffs.
The World Series odds for the team made it look possible, but some early-season struggles derailed a lot of that momentum coming out of Spring Training. Going through a barrage of injuries didn't help either, as the team lost Felix Hernandez, James Paxton, Drew Smyly, and Hisashi Iwakuma to the disabled list at the same time.
Now, this bad news has surfaced that Drew Smyly has to go through Tommy John surgery and that he is lost for the remainder of the regular season. If general manager Jerry Dipoto feels that the team is very close to contending, now would be the time to pull off a trade for a starting pitcher like Sonny Gray. There is still time or the Seattle Mariners to turn things around, but they will also need to start stringing together wins at a better pace.
