The Opener: Mariners, Martinez, Severino

As MLB’s 2023 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Hancock promotion inbound:

The Mariners are poised to promote right-hander Emerson Hancock to the big leagues today for tonight’s game against the Padres. Hancock, the club’s first-round pick in the 2020 draft, was a consensus top-50 prospect in the game as recently as 2021. That being said, his prospect shine has dimmed a bit since then, as he entered the 2023 campaign below right-handers Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo on both the organizational depth chart and prospect rankings over at FanGraphs.

Hancock, 24, has spent virtually all of his professional career at the Double-A level, and sports a career 3.99 ERA in 210 innings of work at the level since 2021. He sports a solid 24.1% strikeout rate and a 9.1% walk rate in that time. While his walk rate has stayed mostly consistent (9.2%) and his ERA has ticked up a bit (4.32) in 2023, Hancock is actually striking out the most batters of his career in 2023 with a 26% figure. That fact gives Seattle reason for optimism as Hancock makes his big league debut this evening and extend the team’s six-game winning streak. The club will have to clear space for him on the 40-man and active rosters before he takes the mound.

2. Martinez to undergo MRI on nagging injury:

Dodgers slugger J.D. Martinez flew back to Los Angeles last night to undergo an MRI with the hope of determining the root of a lingering lower-body issue, per The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. Martinez, 35, is having a resurgent season at the plate with the Dodgers, hitting .260/.312/.558 with 25 home runs. However, he’s also been plagued throughout the season by what the club has termed “left groin/hamstring tightness” that has at points, per Ardaya, left Martinez “feel[ing] like he is unable to walk.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Dodgers beat that the issue dates back to Spring Training, and the hope is that Martinez can avoid a trip to the IL after receiving an injection. Should Martinez require a trip to the shelf, the club will likely turn to one of their previously-optioned youngsters, Michael Busch or Miguel Vargas, to fill the void at the big league level.

3. Will Severino make his start?

Right-hander Luis Severino’s spot in the Yankees’ rotation comes up against the White Sox this evening, but the club has been non-committal regarding whether or not Severino will actually take the mound. As noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, manager Aaron Boone said yesterday afternoon that Severino is set to make his start today “as of now” but, following the game, said the club still needed to discuss how to handle today’s game and that they are “considering everything.”

With right-hander Randy Vasquez expected to take the spot of left-hander Carlos Rodon in the rotation, the club’s options seem somewhat limited: they can either utilize Severino, skip his start and opt for a bullpen game, or call up a surprise youngster who has yet to make his MLB debut. Once one of the most promising young arms in the game, Severino has fallen off in a big way in 2023 with a brutal 7.74 ERA and 6.56 FIP in 13 starts. His struggles have been particularly pronounced as of late, with a stunning 11.22 ERA over his past six starts.