Mariners place LHP Gabe Speier on 15-day IL; activate LHPs José Suarez and Josh Simpson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 29: Gabe Speier #55 of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images The already injury-plagued Mariners took another hit today as it was announced lefty Gabe Speier is going on the IL with left shoulder inflammation. LHP José Suarez, who was recently claimed off waivers from the Braves, has reported to the club to take his place.

Additionally, the Mariners recalled lefty Josh Simpson from Tacoma and sent RHP Cole Wilcox to Triple-A. Speier, 31, hasn’t been objectively bad, but nor has looked like the dominant reliever he was last year. While his numbers look fine on the surface, his expected metrics have been rough: his line of a .

261 xBA, . 466 xSLG, and . 337 xwOBA are all career-highs, and all up about a hundred points over where he ended last year.

Curiously, Speier has been leaning on his slider more heavily this season than his fastballs, throwing the pitch 35% of the time, but he’s had trouble landing it with the consistency he did in 2025. On the left is his 2025 heat map for the pitch; on the right, this season. For whatever reason, he’s had trouble getting the slider to the bottom of the zone consistently, and when the slider leaks into the middle and up on the plate, bad things happen.