Seattle Mariners GM Explains Decision to Move Starting Pitcher to Bullpen

The Mariners are also getting a look at Emerson Hancock as a reliever.

Hancock made made 15 big league starts for Seattle this season. He posted a 5.47 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched.

Hancock was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on July 2. He's had eight outings since being optioned, with the latest being as a reliever. In one inning pitched against the Oklahoma City Comets on Aug. 20, Hancock struck out one batter, walked one and allowed one earned run on two hits.

“There’s a point in the season where protection for starting pitching is less important,” Seattle general manager Justin Hollander said in a story by Seattle Times reporter Ryan Divish. “Right now, he is not among the five that are starting. But in how do we get 13 pitchers we think can help us the most or at least in position to do that, we think he has a chance to be one of our 13 best pitchers, even in a different role. So we wanted to see what it looked like for him, how he feels and how he performs.”

The move to the bullpen was spurred by a phone call from Mariners directing of pitching strategy Trent Blank to Hancock, according to Divish's article.

Hancock took the move in stride, and affirmed he's willing to do anything to help Seattle win, which is a mindset he's expressed for several years in his role as the team's "No. 6" starter.

“Trent was like, ‘This is what we’re looking to do and asked what do you think?’” Hancock said in Divish's article. “I was like, ‘I just want to do whatever I can to give our team the best chance to win. And if you guys think this is the way to do it, then I’m all in, I’m bought in. Whatever I can do to help us win, that’s what I’m committed to doing.’”

Hancock was picked by the Mariners with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Georgia. He pitched the entirety of his career since college in the starting rotation. He made 33 starts at Georgia and has made 30 starts with Seattle since his debut in 2023.

Seattle's starting rotation is all under team control through at least 2027. With Evans' debut this season, and top 100 pitching prospects Ryan Sloan, Jurrangelo Cijntje and Kade Anderson all waiting in the wings, there is question about what Hancock's role on the team could be in the future.

If Hancock can string together consistent outings as a reliever, his future might be in the Mariners' major league bullpen.