Penn Murfee, Taylor Dollard to have surgeries, Marco Gonzales shut down two weeks for Mariners
SEATTLE, WA - MAY 28: Starter Marco Gonzales #7 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at T-Mobile Park on May 28, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 6-3 in ten innings. (Photo by Stephen Bras
SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners had some discouraging news to share on the injury front on Tuesday regarding a trio of pitchers dealing with arm issues.
General manager Justin Hollander said that reliever Penn Murfee will have surgery to address an injury to an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow while Triple-A prospect Taylor Dollard will need surgery to address a labrum injury in his shoulder.
Additionally, starter Marco Gonzales will be shut down for another two weeks as he continues to deal with nerve irritation.
Murfee had an MRI on June 12 after exiting a game the day before in Anaheim with elbow discomfort. Murfee was activated from the injured list on June 9 after missing just over a month with his previous elbow issues. He pitched a scoreless frame against the Angels on Sunday but was still bothered by his elbow.
"Unfortunately after talking to everybody he feels like the best route to go is to have surgery on the UCL," Hollander said. "No timeline yet. No date scheduled. But obviously feel terrible for Penn. Worked really hard to establish himself as a good major league reliever last year really coming from a place in the draft (33rd round, 2018) that even just being a major leaguer for a day is a big deal. He kind of kicked the door down and made himself into a huge contributor to our pen so it's a big loss for us and I feel terrible for him."
Murfee has appeared in 16 games with the Mariners this season. He's posted a 1-2 record and 1.29 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 10 walks (three intentional) in 14 innings pitched.
Gonzales has been on the injured list since June 3 when he was initially placed on IL with a left forearm strain. Forearm issues can be an indication of UCL or flexor tendon damage. However, Hollander said there is nothing structurally a concern in Gonzales' elbow. It is now just some nerve irritation that impeding the recovery.
"Marco went and saw Dr. (Neal) ElAttrache yesterday (in Los Angeles)," Hollander said. "Again, no concern long term with UCLs or ligaments or any of that stuff. He does have some nerve irritation, which is causing some discomfort as he ramps back up. The flexor itself looks good, but we'll have to calm down the nerve so he will be no throw for two weeks and then ramp back up from there. He will take some anti inflammatories to help aid the nerve in calming down. But again, we'll shut down for two weeks and then a timeline after that TBD."
Gonzales has made 10 starts for the Mariners this season. He has a 4-1 record with a 5.22 ERA with 18 walks and 34 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched.
Dollard made three starts for the Tacoma Rainiers this season before landing on the injured list. Dollard managed to throw just 8 ⅓ innings over those three starts with seven runs allowed and a 7.56 ERA.
"Taylor Dollard is going to have surgery on his labrum," Hollander said. "He had a setback during his rehab and he visited with Dr. ElAttrache in LA, in addition to our orthopedist, in addition to Dr. (Keith) Meister all feel like the conservative route is probably run his course and that he will need surgery. He will likely have surgery with ElAttrache. TBD on date and all that."
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Mariners activate Trevor Gott, designate Chris Flexen for assignment
The Seattle Mariners activated reliever Trevor Gott from the 15-day injured list and designated right-handed pitcher Chris Flexen for assignment.
With Chris Flexen designated for assignment on Tuesday, Robbie Ray and Dollard out for the season with injuries and Gonzales sidelined, the Mariners starting pitching depth isn't as robust as it once appeared to be. Additionally, Bryan Woo – who has made four starts in place of Gonzales – is in his first full professional season after Tommy John surgery in 2021 and will be on innings limitations.
"This is sort of the other end of the coin from what we experienced last year where we experienced no starting pitcher injuries, which is highly uncommon," Hollander said.
"We have Tommy Malone and José Rodríguez in Triple-A, Emerson Hancock in Double-A, Darren McCaughan has thrown the ball very well in Triple-A. Just with Marco's injury it just removes some of the depth, the certainty that he provides. For all of the opinions out there on Marco and where he falls in the pecking order of a rotation, one thing that we felt very strongly about is every fifth day you knew what you're getting. You're getting innings, you were getting certainty, you were getting reliability. We obviously miss that."
Notes:
Casey Sadler will pitch in Arizona in early July before returning to Tacoma for minor league outings. He's continuing his rehab from shoulder surgery prior to the start of the 2022 season.
Infielder Didi Gregorious had some visa issues but is getting a physical done at the end of this week. He is set to sign a minor league deal with the team.