Seattle Mariners news has Felix Hernandez and Mitch Haniger being placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday (April 26). The bad news follows a rough day for the Mariners, as the team not only lost two of its star players but fell to the Detroit Tigers 19-9. The loss in Game 1 of the series also cost two relief pitchers their spots on the 25-man roster.
Pitchers Chris Heston and Evan Marshall were optioned to Triple-A Tacoma following really rough outings. Heston gave up five runs in just two innings of work, while Marshall allowed seven runs in his two innings. General manager Jerry Dipoto showed that he has very little patience for players who are underperforming and made some immediate changes to the roster.
Felix Hernandez is now on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. He was removed from the game after just two innings of work, complaining of a “dead arm” in between innings. Hernandez was sent back to Seattle for further tests to be done on his arm and shoulder.
Mitch Haniger is also on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. The extent of the tear in his muscle wasn’t clear, so Haniger was also sent back to Seattle on the plane. He could be lost for several weeks to this injury, forcing the Mariners to add another outfielder to the mix.
In a positive aspect of this Seattle Mariners news, four players were promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to take the roster spots of Hernandez, Haniger, Heston, and Marshall. They are right-handed pitchers Chase De Jong and Casey Fien, left-handed pitcher Dillon Overton, and outfielder Ben Gamel. As seen on the lineup card for April 26 listed below, Gamel has immediately been placed in the batting order.
Mariners lineup vs. Tigers LH Daniel Norris, 4:10 p.m. PT at Comerica. Seager still sidelined as well. pic.twitter.com/ruIUt35nok
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) April 26, 2017
Chase De Jong appeared in two games for the Mariners this season, posting a 5.79 ERA over 4 2/3 innings of work. In his second game, though, he went four innings against the Oakland Athletics, giving up just one hit and no runs. It was an impressive showing, but he was sent back to Triple-A Tacoma when Chris Heston was brought up to join the pitching staff. Casey Fien and Dillon Overton pitched out of the bullpen earlier this season for the Mariners.
Ben Gamel has a 0.288 batting average and a 0.419 on-base percentage over 59 at-bats for Tacoma. He was acquired from the New York Yankees late in the 2016 MLB season and has shown promise before this. Now he will get a chance to have an immediate impact during Wednesday’s game. After Leonys Martin was designated for assignment, the team was working with fewer outfielders, necessitating a promotion after the Mitch Haniger injury.
In five starts this year, Felix Hernandez had posted a 4.73 ERA and a 2-2 record before getting placed on the disabled list. Haniger might be the bigger loss, though, as he had posted a 0.338 batting average, 20 runs, 27 hits, seven doubles, 12 extra base hits, and 16 RBIS to this point. Haniger was in the conversation to win the Rookie of the Year Award, and he might have been the most important piece of the current Seattle Mariners’ roster.
Most Seattle Mariners news has been negative this season, as the team has an 8-13 record through 21 games. The ugly 19-9 loss was only the latest stumble in April, as the team now resides in last place in the American League West. One bright spot has been James Paxton, who has given up a run in only one of his four starts this year. Paxton is on the mound Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers (4 p.m. PT) as the team tries to get back on a winning streak.
Chase De Jong has already been announced as the replacement for Felix Hernandez in the starting rotation. He will make his first career start against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday (April 30), and the team needs him to put together some good innings. In order to get back in the race for a division title, the team is going to need to start winning games. A prolonged losing streak could mean that the next bit of Seattle Mariners news is about the team unloading veterans at the MLB trade deadline.
[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]