USA TODAY Sports

According to Seattle Mariners' manager Scott Servais, new reliever Gregory Santos is almost ready to ramp up his throwing program. He had been dealing with "general lat soreness."

Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times:

Scott Servais said Gregory Santos is progressing and will start ramping up his throwing program in the coming days.

That's certainly good news for the Mariners, who recently acquired Santos from the Chicago White Sox. Even though it's good news, Santos's health is not without worry - he also dealt with elbow problems at the end of last season in Chicago.

The M's are hoping that a healthy Santos will pair with Andres Munoz and Matt Brash to form one of the best back-end trios in all of baseball. Each of those three players can save games for manager Scott Servais and should be able to help take the ball from Seattle's accomplished and exciting group of starting pitchers.

The 24-year-old Santos made his major league debut in 2021 with the San Francisco Giants. He's 2-4 with a 4.00 ERA at the major league level. He had five saves last season, ending the year as the White Sox closer.

In addition to Santos, Munoz and Brash, the Mariners figure to have a bullpen spot locked up for lefty Gabe Speier and righty Austin Voth. Beyond that, there will be some competition for the final few spots.

Seattle finished 2023 at 88-74 and missed the playoffs by 1.0 game. They last made the playoffs during the 2022 season and have never made a World Series.

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