July 24th, 2024
Josh Kirshenbaum
SEATTLE -- The Trade Deadline is just over a week away. But at this point, July 23 might well be a bigger delineation point in the Mariners’ summer, with Tuesday becoming one of their biggest transactional days of the season.
Three storylines from the past three days came to a head in the hours leading up to the Mariners’ matchup against the Angels on Tuesday. Star center fielder Julio Rodríguez and starting shortstop J.P. Crawford went onto the 10-day injured list with an ankle injury and a fractured pinky, respectively. Meanwhile, Ty France, who had been placed on outright waivers Sunday afternoon, cleared waivers and was designated for assignment.
In their place, Seattle called up No. 6 prospect first baseman Tyler Locklear, shortstop Leo Rivas, outfielder Cade Marlowe and outfielder Jonatan Clase -- who had been optioned on Monday but is allowed to return right away because he's replacing a player going on the injured list. They join Jason Vosler, who was called up Sunday, making one wall of the Seattle clubhouse 50% new lockers.
Seattle lost 5-1, its fifth straight loss against the Angels. Locklear, Vosler and Marlowe had the only hits. Marlowe drove Vosler in for the Mariners’ only run on a double play in the fifth inning.
“I thought the new guys on the roster, the at-bats they had tonight, were good,” Servais said. “They put the ball in play and found some holes, but certainly not enough.”
It was a very different-looking Mariners lineup than the one Servais put out two games ago.
“We’ve got a different look to our team with some new faces on the roster today,” manager Scott Servais said. “They’ll get the opportunity to play, and we’ve got to get the most out of them.”
Rodríguez left Sunday's game against the Astros with a right ankle injury after a collision with the outfield wall. X-rays returned negative, and he remained out of the lineup Monday after undergoing further testing that morning. The 23-year-old outfielder has a .687 OPS with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 100 games.
On Tuesday, the Mariners got official word from the medical staff that Rodríguez would miss enough time to warrant a trip to the IL with a high ankle sprain. He was in the clubhouse Tuesday, walking around in flip-flops -- though he said the doctors gave him a walking boot to use if needed.
“I feel good. Some restrictions here and there,” Rodríguez said. “But I can move around. It looks promising. I’m really happy to just tackle this recovery and be back as soon as I can for the team.”
Servais didn’t give a specific target for Rodríguez’s return.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be,” he said. “It could be a quick turnaround in 10, 11 days. It could be longer. We’ll see. We’ll know more here in the next few days.”
The outlook for Crawford -- who came into the clubhouse wearing a full wrist brace with the bottom two fingers on his right hand immobilized -- is also vague but with less hope for a quick return. He was initially diagnosed with a hairline fracture on his right pinky when a pitch hit him during Monday's game. The Mariners’ shortstop has a .646 OPS with nine home runs in 77 games. He missed roughly a month earlier this season with a right oblique strain.
“Any time it’s a fracture, it’s going to take some time to heal,” Servais said. “So he’s going to be out for some time and I don’t have a timeline.”
France was placed on outright waivers on Sunday and said Monday was a “weird, hard day.” The Mariners acquired France in a massive seven-player trade in 2020, bringing Andrés Muñoz, Luis Torrens and Taylor Trammell to Seattle in exchange for Austin Adams, Austin Nola and Dan Altavilla. France was a 2022 All-Star. He struggled with a .703 OPS last season and dropped even lower to .662 in 88 games this season.
“I said it yesterday and I’ll echo that again: Ty was a big part of our offense for a number of years,” Servais said. “He was very productive, hitting the ball all over the field, one of the tougher guys in the league to strike out. The bat-to-ball skills, I always rave about. This guy can put the bat on anything. But over time, that hasn’t been the case.”
These moves come at a trying time for the Mariners. After holding sole possession of first place in the AL West from May 12 to July 19, they’re now in a tight battle with the Astros, who were 10 games behind Seattle as recently as June 18. Now, the Mariners will have to navigate without two of their most important position players and one of their longest-tenured players in the fold.
"We’re going through it right now,” Servais said. “These things happen throughout the course of the season, the ups and downs. We’re going to keep grinding through it with a couple of our key players out of the lineup right now and some new faces in there. Going to give these guys a chance to play, and everybody’s got to step it up a little bit.”
