Red-hot Mariners add silver arrow to their quiver, activating Matt Brash off IL, optioning Troy Taylor

The bullpen ace is back at last.

The Seattle Mariners have activated RHP Matt Brash off the injured list, lining him up to pitch in the majors for the first time since 2023 after his preseason Tommy John surgery in 2024. In a corresponding move, they’ve optioned young righty reliever Troy Taylor. The strong showing from Taylor in 2024 was slowed by a lat strain that waylaid his Spring Training. Now he’s working to regain form and will continue to do so in Triple-A Tacoma.

Brash’s return essentially fills out the big league bullpen to nearly full strength. While Gregory Santos is on the injured list and could well still return to form following a hopefully conclusive knee cleanup surgery, and Jackson Kowar is beginning his rehab appearances in the minors as well from his own Tommy John bout, neither player has been the performer Brash has. The righty last was a fireman for Seattle, pitching in high leverage situations all throughout the game for the M’s as he earned a 3.06/2.26 ERA/FIP with 2.0 fWAR in 70.2 innings across 78 games in 2023. That came with a vicious 34.7% strikeout rate as cruel and cutting as his sweeping slider and powerful curve.

With reigning American League Reliever of the Month Andrés Muñoz being used in a more conservative, traditional closing role predominantly early in 2025, Brash’s return is particularly encouraging. It would be surprising and unreasonable to expect the Canadian fireballer to be used as aggressively as he was prior to his injury, and back-to-backs will not likely be frequent affairs if possible in the next couple months. However, the righty’s stuff is such that he can be deployed against the heart of a club’s order for swings and misses in a way few other pitchers in baseball can. Pitching Ninjas and circus performers alike can rejoice, swords are back on the menu.