Hancock will be used out of the bullpen in Saturday's game in Cleveland as part of the latter half of a piggyback arrangement with starter Logan Gilbert, Cameron Van Til of 710 AM Seattle Sports reports.
Manager Dan Wilson announced last week that the Mariners would maintain a five-man rotation through the All-Star break but keep all six of their starters involved by using two in a piggyback arrangement every sixth game. After Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo worked in tandem last Friday versus Boston, Gilbert and Hancock will be paired together this weekend. Assuming their usage mimics that of Miller and Castillo from last week, Gilbert will likely cover around five innings and 70-to-80 pitches, while Hancock steps in to handle the final four frames. The setup will likely lessen Hancock's fantasy appeal this week, though managers may have already been leaning toward keeping him on their benches anyway. After submitting a 2.74 ERA and 0.95 WHIP through his first 13 starts, Hancock turned in his worst outings of the season in his last two starts, giving up a combined 11 earned runs on 13 hits and two walks in 9.1 innings while taking losses against the Nationals and Red Sox.