The Mariners suffered a doubtlessly devastating blow on Saturday when middle fielder Julio Rodriguez was helped off the sector by members of the crew’s athletic employees as a result of an obvious harm. The harm occurred (as relayed by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) when a hard-hit line drive off the bat of Randy Arozarena collided with Rodriguez’s leg whereas he was making an attempt to steal third base. Rodriguez was changed in middle subject by Leody Taveras.
It’s not but clear how extreme Rodriguez’s harm is, however even a short absence can be a tricky break for a Mariners membership that has already misplaced ten of their final 14 video games, together with an lively four-game shedding streak. That slide has seen Seattle drop from within the driver’s seat within the AL West to a few video games again of the Astros and one sport out of an AL Wild Card spot. That slide can’t be attributed to Rodriguez, who has began to shed his repute as a sluggish starter this season by slashing a good .248/.316/.416 (114 wRC+) with even stronger peripheral numbers throughout his first 61 video games this season. Rodriguez has ten steals, ten homers, and is putting out at a career-low 19.6% clip up to now within the season all whereas enjoying his typical glorious protection in middle subject.
For now, there’s little for Mariners followers to do aside from look forward to updates from membership brass. Rodriguez seems prone to bear testing earlier than a timetable for his return will grow to be obtainable. Maybe he’s suffered solely a contusion and shall be day-to-day or require solely a brief stint on the IL. Alternatively, a bone bruise on Rodriguez’s leg would seemingly require at the very least a month, because it has for fellow outfielders like Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger lately, though it’s at the very least doable it may take considerably longer as has been the case for gamers like Kyle Tucker and Anthony Rendon.
That dynamic of a expertise can be troublesome to lose for any membership, however that’s very true of the Mariners, given their present scenario within the outfield. With Victor Robles and Luke Raley each already on the injured listing, infielders from the membership’s bench combine like Miles Mastrobuoni and Dylan Moore, have been tasked with serving to out on the grass alongside the membership’s common trio of Rodriguez, Arozarena, and Taveras. If Rodriguez have been to require a stint on the injured listing, Taveras would seemingly slide over from proper subject to middle, whereas a depth choice at the moment at Triple-A like Dominic Canzone or Rhylan Thomas would take over in proper subject.
Canzone is a profession .206/.263/.387 hitter within the majors and Thomas has simply three video games within the majors below his belt, so it goes with out saying that both can be a subpar substitute for the Mariners’ star hitter. The excellent news is that additional assist could also be on the way in which quickly: MLB.com means that Raley may start a rehab task as quickly as subsequent week. A .242/.328/.463 (127 wRC+) hitter for the reason that begin of the 2023 marketing campaign, Raley’s return may assist to make up for any time Rodriguez misses, at the very least in opposition to right-handed pitching.
