Seattle Mariners Make Major Roster Move Before Wednesday Game

WEDNESDAY AM: After a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery, hard-throwing reliever Jackson Kowar is nearing his debut with the Seattle Mariners.

Speaking with the media on Tuesday, general manager Justin Hollander said that Kowar is "basically ready" for activation.

Kowar's doing ​well on the ​Triple-A ​rehab ​assignment. ​He's ​basically ​there in ​terms ​of ​being ​ready ​to ​be ​activated. ​So, we'll ​check ​in ​this ​week ​and ​see ​where ​we ​head ​with ​Jackson. ​But ​he's ​done ​great ​all ​throughout. ​Bouncing ​back well, I ​think ​he ​did ​three ​appearances ​in ​five ​days ​and ​felt ​great ​doing ​it. ​So ​it's ​been ​really ​nice ​to ​have ​the ​build ​up ​time ​with ​him. ​And ​he's ​checked ​every ​box ​along ​the ​way.

The 28-year-old is a former first-round pick of the Kansas City Royals out of Florida who made his debut in 2021. Lifetime, he's gone 2-6 with a 9.12 ERA, but he has the tools to be an effective reliever if the M's can just harness them. The Mariners just recently called up pitcher Blas Castano from Triple-A Tacoma, so it's quite possible that Kowar could take that spot in the bullpen once he's fully ready.

The Mariners acquired him last offseason from the Atlanta Braves in the trade that sent Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales and Evan White to Atlanta. Kowar had been traded to the Braves for Kyle Wright earlier in the offseason.

He's appeared in eight minor league games this season, going 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in seven innings. He's struck out four. He was Top-100 prospect according to Baseball America before both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

The Mariners enter play on Wednesday at 30-23 overall and in first place in the American League West. They'll take on the Nationals at 6:40 p.m. PT.