Seattle Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma Injures Pitching Hand

Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that Hisashi Iwakuma has an injury to his pitching hand and will not be throwing a baseball for 4-6 weeks. Iwakuma strained the tendon in his middle finger on January 20 when it was tangled in protective netting during a workout with former NPB teammates in Los Angeles.

In a press release issued this afternoon, Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said, “Luckily, this does not appear to be a serious injury. It is a setback for Kuma, but we are confident that he will quickly overcome the missed time and be able to rejoin our rotation early in the regular season.”

Iwakuma had a great second year with the Seattle Mariners in 2013 going 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. He also racked up 185 strikeouts over 219 2/3 innings. In the battle for the American League Cy Young, Iwakuma came in third place behind Max Scherzer and Yu Darvish. This is not welcome news.