Mariners’ Juan Nicasio opts for season-ending knee surgery

The Mariners made right-handed reliever Juan Nicasio their top offseason pitching acquisition after he led the National League in appearances a season ago. He had a sterling 2.61 ERA over 76 games in 2017.

But Nicasio’s last outing for the Mariners will represent how this entire season went for him.

He allowed a go-ahead two-run home run against the Blue Jays on Aug. 2 and went to the disabled list a day later with inflammation in his right knee and with a season ERA that ballooned to 6.00.

On Sunday, Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters in Arizona that Nicasio would get season-ending knee surgery to have it “cleaned up.”

“I was really, really hoping to have him back,” Servais said. “But you have got to have your legs under you to pitch, and he didn’t feel comfortable there.”

Servais pointed to Nicasio’s batting average on balls in play. When hitters put the ball in play, they had a .402 average which Servais has used to point to whether a player is lucky or not.

“Juan is our most unlucky pitcher by far, one of the most unlucky in the big leagues this year, just batting average on balls in play,” Servais said. “Juan has a couple of really good stretches for us, and he had some times that he struggled and give us some big hits late in games which kind of tipped the game in the other direction.”

Iwakuma returns

Yes, Hisashi Iwakuma is pitching again.

He threw his first rehab start of the season on Sunday, throwing for short-season Single-A Everett, which was playing in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Iwakuma pitched one inning and allowed two hits with no walks, no strikeouts and allowed a run on a sacrifice fly.

That was the 31-year-old right-hander first game since he tossed a rehab outing June 19 of 2017 for Triple-A Tacoma in his failed attempt to return from a shoulder injury that eventually led to offseason surgery. The former American League All-Star hasn’t pitched in a major league game since May 3 of last season.

This story was originally published August 26, 2018 at 4:49 PM.