The Seattle Mariners made a move in their shallow bullpen, optioning RHP Alex Hoppe to Triple-A Tacoma and recalling LHP Josh Simpson from the Rainiers. The move comes in front of two more games with the Cleveland Guardians, whose lineup is incredibly lefty-heavy. It\u2019s the easiest to understand reasoning behind the move for the M\u2019s, whose typical wariness towards using walk-prone relievers is being set aside for Simpson\u2019s groundball-generating skills.<\/p>\n
Simpson has managed a 2.08\/3.42\/4.77 ERA\/FIP\/DRA in 21.2 innings with Tacoma, all reasonable enough to consider for recall. Hoppe, by contrast, has had difficulty getting his ducks aligned, seeing a 2.86\/4.59 FIP\/DRA undermined by a 6.38 ERA in his 24.0 big league frames, due to an astoundingly unfortunate 46.2% strand rate and a .343 BABIP. It\u2019s not all unluckiness, as Hoppe\u2019s command has been underwhelming, but the hard-hurling righty has been tasked to mop up many unsavory moments and might not be jettisoned so quickly were Seattle not utilizing all six starters.<\/p>\n
To that plan, today\u2019s piggy-back will not occur as scheduled. The Mariners, per Adam Jude<\/a> of the Seattle Times, don\u2019t wish to disrupt the rhythm Logan Gilbert has been in of late, instead pushing Emerson Hancock to a solo start Sunday and George Kirby back home on Monday. While it\u2019s not a shocker, this is another alteration to the rotation as laid out, and will be something to track within the clubhouse and on the field. Of course, lining George Kirby up against the Angels is hard to argue with.<\/p>\n