The Seattle Mariners’ banged-up bullpen took another hit Monday.
The Mariners placed reliever Gabe Speier on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sunday with left shoulder inflammation before their series opener with the Atlanta Braves.
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With the left-handed Speier going on the IL, the M’s added a pair of southpaws to their bullpen, with waiver claim José Suarez reporting to the club and Josh Simpson being called up from Triple-A.
Right-hander Cole Wilcox was also sent down to Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move.
The loss of Speier means the Mariners are now without three key members of last year’s bullpen, as Speier joins Matt Brash (right lat inflammation) and Carlos Vargas (right lat strain) on the IL.
Speier, 31, was the club’s top left-handed option out of the bullpen a year ago. In 76 appearances during the regular season, he posted a 2.31 ERA and 0.87 WHIP over 62 innings. Speier struck out 33.7% of the batters he faced while walking just 4.5%.
The standout 2025 campaign earned him on spot on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic.
Things hadn’t gone as smoothly for Speier early on this year, though. Despite sporting a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings in 15 outings, his WHIP was up to 1.54, his walk rate had nearly doubled to 8.9% and his strikeout rate was down to 21.4%.
Suarez, 28, is joining the Mariners as they face his former team. He was claimed off waivers from the Braves on Sunday. In eight games (one start) for Atlanta this season, Suarez had a 6.61 ERA with 12 runs allowed over 16 1/3 innings.
Over eight MLB seasons with the Braves and Los Angeles Angels, Suarez has a career 5.35 ERA over 412 1/3 innings in 114 appearances.
Simpson, 28, is being recalled from Triple-A for the second time in a four-day span. He was originally called up when Brash went on the IL on Friday, but he was sent back down the following day before appearing in a game. In his nine outings in Triple-A this season, he has a 0.96 ERA with one run allowed over 9 1/3 innings in nine appearances.
Simpson appeared in 33 games as a rookie for the Miami Marlins last season, compiling a 7.34 ERA in 30 2/3 innings over 31 appearances.
Wilcox, 26, has pitched in 11 games for Seattle this season. The right-hander has a 5.40 ERA over 13 1/3 innings.
The Mariners and Braves open a three-game series at T-Mobile Park on Monday at 6:40 p.m. Radio coverage can be heard on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app starting with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m.
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