The Seattle Mariners will send Felix Hernandez to the mound for shorter stints with potentially more rest between starts in an effort to keep him healthy next season.

"I think that is going to be something to manage with Felix," Jerry Dipoto said. "I don't know how we're going to get him through 33 starts without managing it in a little different way than we managed it this year. Whether he's starting less frequently, whether that be monitoring pitch counts in a different way than we have before, whether it's part of his offseason training preparation and in-season routines, we'll do those things, whatever we have to do to make sure that he is in the best position he can be."

Hernandez made a career-low 16 starts due to injury in 2017. He posted a 4.36 ERA.

He made two trips to the disabled list -- once with inflammation in his right shoulder and again with bursitis in the same shoulder. The right-hander lasted at least seven innings just twice all season.