💥 BREAKING NEWS: Mariners lose Logan Evans, and this blow to rotation is more dangerous than the numbers suggest ⚡ .MH

The Seattle Mariners just received bad news they hoped to avoid this spring: Logan Evans has undergone UCL ligament reconstruction surgery using an internal brace. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas, and despite a more positive recovery timeline than the traditional Tommy John, Evans will miss the entire 2026 season.

Theoretically, the Mariners still have “depth.” But in reality, this loss hits the most sensitive spot in the team’s roster.

Evans, 24, isn’t an ace. But he’s exactly what playoff teams need: a reliable option when things start to fall apart. Last season, he played 16 games, shooting 81.1 innings, with 15 starts — right when Seattle’s rotation was being worn down by injuries. Evans didn’t appear in the postseason, but the innings he carried mid-season helped the Mariners survive long enough to enter a deep playoff run.

His most memorable moment came on May 27th against Washington. Evans threw eight innings—the longest run of any Mariners pitcher all season—only to concede a single run, a solo homer by James Wood. That game also went down in history in a strange way: the Nationals fielded an all-left-handed lineup to counter Evans, and he became the first Mariners pitcher in decades to face an “Oops! All Lefties!” lineup.

But the warning signs had been appearing since the summer.

In mid-August, Evans was taken to the Il (Integrated Field Office) with a diagnosis of right elbow inflammation—VEO, or “pitcher’s elbow.” Imaging at the time showed no structural damage. Evans took a month off, treated with rest and cortisone injections, and returned late in the season, throwing three innings against the Dodgers on September 27th. He wasn’t named in the playoff roster, and at the time, that decision was considered prudent.

Now the picture is clearer.

Internal braces typically allow pitchers to return within 12 months—faster than Tommy John’s traditional 18-month timeframe. If all goes well, Evans could be ready for spring training in 2027. But for the Mariners, the problem isn’t 2027. The problem is that 2026 has just lost a proven option.

Seattle has proactively built a backup plan: Cooper Criswell was brought in, and Dane Dunning and Randy Dobnak signed minor league contracts. On paper, that’s logical preparation. But Evans isn’t just a name on paper. He’s someone who’s been on the MLB mound, has pitched real innings, has faced real pressure—and that’s not easily replaced.

The consequences are starting to spread.

The pressure is now on Emerson Hancock—who is still in the process of “figure it out” at the big league level. At the same time, the temperature around Kade Anderson, a top prospect yet to pitch a professional pitch, is also rising noticeably. The Mariners are known for developing pitching quickly, but pushing an undebuted talent into a depth dilemma is always a double-edged sword.

The most unfortunate thing is the timing. Losing Evans didn’t cause the Mariners to collapse. But it thinned the safety margin—the very thing that helped them survive last season. And when a team has playoff expectations, losses like this don’t usually cause a huge uproar… until you need those exact innings in July or August.

Now the question many are starting to ask isn’t “Do the Mariners have enough pitching?” but rather: do they have enough pitching when things aren’t going according to plan?

For Logan Evans, the hope is a full recovery. For the Mariners, the hope is they won’t have to relearn the lesson about depth in the most unpleasant way.