Mariners' Logan Gilbert: Could return before end of month

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Friday on MLB Network that he's "hopeful" Gilbert (elbow) will rejoin the rotation before the end of May, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

Gilbert is on the 15-day injured list with a Grade 1 flexor strain in his pitching arm. He's about a week into a two-week shutdown period, so more should be known about a potential timeline for the right-hander late next week. It's not clear whether the Mariners will ask Gilbert to make a rehab start before returning.