Surreal spiral clock in space. Concept of time, space, life, death, time travel. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. Getty Images
40 in 40: Bryan Woo, Regent Ascended
By: John Trupin
February 20th, 2030
Reality spares no thought for the satisfying heft of narrative arc, preferring the winds of fate to take the reins. So, the petty tyranny of middle managers goes unpunished. We’re so often denied a last, meaningful conversation with a loved one. The good guys sometimes lose.
But those capricious winds, chaotic as they are, sometimes bring with them a moment that can look only to be the construction of a particularly heavy-handed auteur.
Take, for instance, the long journey of a king to the most hallowed land. Perhaps he left his empire heirless when he began this journey. He reaches his journey’s terminus, a bronzed throne fit for his timeless repose. But when he looks back to his once-kingdom, he smiles—for he sees, after all, an heir worthy to lead his people. His crown may be rightfully retrieved from the imperial reliquary, and delivered to a hero of a new age. The bells may be rung.
It’s hard to see anything less cinematic than that, here and now. Nine years after his retirement, Felix Hernandez has officially been made a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2030. His ultimate coronation couldn’t come at a better time. The long-tenured regent to his throne, Bryan Woo, he of the 32.4 career fWAR (seventh most by a pitcher in his first six full seasons), has finally overcome the trials of Snubgate and claimed his first piece of gold: the 2029 American League Cy Young Award. More than that, he’s laid his claim to the verdant greens of the Northwest, earning the last incentive remaining from his much-hyped extension to guarantee his next five seasons.
The king hands off his kingdom to a deserving heir. And while we may not call Woo by the royal title out of respect for those who came before, there’s no denying he has earned it.
Colorful 3D speed tunnel warp conceptual image, Getty Images/iStockphoto
40 in 40: Bryan Woo, Ephemereal
By: Zach Mason
February 20, 2030
I know, you, Bryan Woo, you are epheme-real
“He’s writing another one,” you’re probably already thinking. But as the inheritor to Madonna’s throne and the owner of 16 Grammys (including, this year, grabbing her first Album of the Year since Showgirl), her inspiration should frankly live larger on this site, a duty that my fellow masthead neglect. So, I consider this to be doing my part.
While I acknowledge that I may return to this beat from time to time, I will not be told this one is contrived. Good luck denying how closely the chorus of the song of the album of the year tracks to the experience of loving Bryan Woo. Ephemereal, the song and the album, are an ode to the bittersweetness of a certain type of failed relationship. Not a relationship that failed because they weren’t compatible enough and not enough in love—a relationship that failed despite true compatibility and more than enough love. A relationship that wasn’t doomed to fail from the start and fell apart despite a healthy core of love and care. Something real, but painfully ephemeral.
Bryan Woo has never lacked talent. The talent spoke for itself in the halcyon of 2025. He’s also never lacked a nose for hard work. He’s put plenty in at the Mariners Bellevue Sports Clinic (“Train like the players. Recover like the players.” Another ad spot for that den might finally do me in), at the gym, at rehab assignments from Springdale, Arkansas to Springfield, Missouri, and, yes, even occasionally on the mound, clad in Northwest Green.
I’m not sad because the Bryan Woo of our dreams wasn’t real—I’m sad because we saw that, briefly, he was. Ephemeral, but real. Ephemereal.
Traveling at the speed of light, time-warp trough universe filled with stars and space dust. Getty Images/iStockphoto
40 in 40: Two Bryans Diverged in a Woo(d)
By: Nick Vitalis-Troupe
February 20, 2026
Bryan Woo stands at a crossroads.
It’s not the typical crossroads that confronts a talented player at this point in their young career. It’s not the crossroads of, “Is this guy able to take the next step? Can he adapt to major league hitters? Can he become what he’s meant to be?” No, Woo has shown that he is capable of that.
His 2025 season was spectacular. His four-seam and two-seam fastballs combined for a total of -30 RV: if this metric is a bit esoteric, know that no other pitcher combined for more (less? whatever is better) on their fastballs. By WAR, he was the most valuable pitcher on the Mariners. He increased his strikeouts without causing the walks to skyrocket. He showed durability, throwing the 12th-most innings in baseball. He was a top-20 pitcher in the game by any metric.
The question about Woo is not whether he can take the “next step.”
In 2021, he underwent Tommy John surgery after tearing his UCL at Cal Poly. In 2023, his first full season since recovering, he made his major-league debut, and took a minor stint on the IL for forearm tightness. In 2024, he began the season on the IL with elbow inflammation, and in his first game back after that, he exited early with forearm tightness.
You probably see where I’m going here. Even in his wonderful 2025, he missed a bit of September and the ALDS with a pectoral injury.
Bryan Woo has a freak arm that allows him to access pitches that are typically available only either to supinators (the nutty east-west movement of his sweeper/sinker combo) or pronators (ride-y four-seamers, gyro sliders, changeups). That rare movement profile, combined with his elite control and velocity, makes him a nightmare to hit against.
So, it really comes down to this.
If he can’t keep his soft tissue from protesting every step of the way, he’ll go down as one of the most frustrating Mariners player in recent memory. Tantalizing true, major-league talent, hidden behind injury.
But, if he can manage to keep that freak arm healthy, the Mariners have truly found an ace to anchor their elite rotation, and the crown jewel of the Mariners pitching development and scouting teams. He can be the ace they need to carry them to the promised land. He can be generational.