Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma won’t throw for another three weeks due to a strained tendon in his middle finger, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Iwakuma was expected to miss four to six weeks and rejoin the rotation in mid-to-late April.
The news comes on the same day the Mariners shut down Taijuan Walker due to shoulder inflammation. Suddenly, the Mariners’ rotation isn’t looking so good beyond Felix Hernandez. The Mariners have repeatedly been linked to free agent starter Ervin Santana, so it will be interesting to see if they bite the bullet as a result of the injury bug.