The Mariners are about to deploy an unorthodox pitching plan

The Mariners are shaking things up in their starting rotation. With a crowded stable of six starting pitchers — Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Luis Castillo and Emerson Hancock — Seattle revealed Tuesday that they will use a “piggyback” pitching plan through the All-Star break. Instead of a traditional five-man or expanded six-man rotation, the Mariners will have each of their starters work in a piggyback setup, meaning they will either open the game or cover bulk innings behind another starter while skipping their usual start, helping the team manage workloads and keep all six starters involved. “Each of the six guys will either appear as the front end or the back end one time in the next 30 days,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said, per the Seattle Times.“Each guy will be a participant for one day, so roughly everyone will sacrifice an inning or two innings over the next 30 days.”After some frustration from Miller and Castillo when the Mariners last tried the piggyback plan in May, it appears everyone is on board this time around, with Hollander saying this was a “unanimous” decision with the six starters. “Any way you did it, it wasn’t going to be ideal or perfect for everybody, but [they tried] to pick the options that made the most sense for everybody,” he said.Despite some hesitancy with the plan last month, Miller and Castillo combined for a 1.67 ERA in three outings as the piggyback duo, covering 27 of 28 innings in those games, giving the Mariners’ bullpen a rest. Hollander described the plan as more of a short-term solution than some grand pitching experiment.“I don’t think we’re going to revolutionize pitching in any way,” Hollander said.

“But for this group that we have right now, I think it’s the right thing to do.And I think everybody landed on that unanimously for this group, and I think the starters began to understand and embrace it when we talked to them on Sunday.”...