Mariners pitcher with 3.23 ERA suddenly leaves with apparent injury

Seattle Mariners pitcher Emerson Hancock left in the second inning of his start against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 12, the victim of an apparent injury.

Hancock was hit on the right hand by a Yandy Diaz comebacker in the first inning. Not only did he recover to throw out Diaz after retrieving the ball behind the pitcher’s mound, he continued pitching into the second inning.

Hancock’s two pitches before he was removed were sinkers clocked at 96.1 and 96.5 mph, respectively, his two fastest pitches of the game. Nonetheless, Mariners manager Dan Wilson and an athletic trainer made the decision to end the right-hander’s final start before the MLB All-Star break then and there.

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Seattle leads Tampa Bay, 3-0, at Tropicana Field through two innings.

Hancock, 27, is 6-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 17 starts this season. His ERA is the second-best in a deep Mariners rotation that has used piggyback starts to keep all six pitchers — Hancock, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller — active and stretched out. His 1.01 WHIP ranks third in the group.

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The Mariners’ starting pitching is deep enough that they were considered a candidate to trade one pitcher from the group in order to bolster the team’s lineup or bullpen.

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto basically conceded as much earlier this week.

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“I think there are enough contending teams with real holes or needs to fill that you might actually see more action with contender trading with contender — like, buyer-to-buyer type trades to fill voids,” Dipoto said, via Fansided’s Robert Murray.

Castillo was always considered the most likely pitcher in the Mariners’ deep group of starters to be traded. For any of them to leave Seattle in a trade, all must be healthy — a prospect that is complicated by Hancock’s apparent injury.

Jose Ferrer took over for Hancock. The Mariners have not yet announced why he left the game.