Injured Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert is about to take his next step toward a Major League return.

The right-handed starter will make his second rehab start at Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday night, Seattle manager Dan Wilson announced on Tuesday. The plan was always for Gilbert to get at least two rehab starts before the Mariners activated him, MLB.com's Daniel Kramer noted.

Gilbert has been on the Injured List since April 26 with a right elbow flexor strain. He made his first rehab start on May 29, also for the Rainiers, allowing two hits, two walks and a hit batsman over 1.2 innings. He also struck out three and threw 45 pitches.

“I felt fine, my arm feels pretty good, solid,” Gilbert said after the game. “It kind of feels like Spring Training a little bit. We talked about it. The stuff feels fine. A couple of close misses, and just need to be in the zone a lot more. Just like spring, it takes a couple to get synced up. It's kind of how it feels. But the arm felt good.”

Gilbert's fastball hit 96.8 mph that night, according to Kramer, who also noted that the righty threw only five first-pitch strikes to 10 batters.

Article Continues Below

If all goes well on Wednesday, he could be activated and available to pitch next week when the Mariners face the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Before his injury, Gilbert was off to a sparkling start to 2025 with the Mariners. In six starts, he had a 2.37 ERA with 44 strikeouts over 30.1 innings and a 0.791 WHIP.

When he returns, he will join a Mariners team that currently sits in first place in the AL West at 32-26. Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo have combined to form a formidable front-end of the rotation, while Logan Evans was excellent in six big league starts before returning to the Minor Leagues.

The Mariners will have a decision to make when they ultimately activate Gilbert. Emerson Hancock (5.64 ERA) may be the odd man out at that point.