Mariners' Max Povse: On DL with hamstring strain

Povse, who was being converted to a relief role at Double-A Arkansas, is on the minor-league DL with a hamstring strain, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

He will obviously return in the coming weeks from the hamstring injury, but the bigger news is that the Mariners are converting Povse to a bullpen role. In seven starts at Double-A he had logged a 3.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 30:11 K:BB in 35.1 innings. The Mariners famously converted Edwin Diaz from a starter to a reliever at Double-A last season, and he needed just 10 appearances out of the bullpen before he was promoted to the big leagues and began his dominant 51.2-inning run that cemented his status as a top-15 closer heading into this season. Povse's stuff isn't quite as electric, but he could move quickly now that he is being developed as a reliever.