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Seattle Mariners Injury Updates: Felix Hernandez, Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura Missed By Mariners Fans

By Ryan DeVault
Published on: 07:54 PST, Jun 3, 2017

Seattle Mariners injury updates have become all-too-familiar for fans this season. Felix Hernandez, Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Drew Smyly are just a few of the names still on the disabled list who were supposed to help the team compete during the 2017 MLB season. Nelson Cruz, James Paxton, and Robinson Cano have also missed time due to nagging injuries, making it very difficult for the team to stay competitive in the American League West.

A Felix Hernandez injury update was provided by the Seattle Mariners on Saturday (June 3) as the former Cy Young winner will be reporting to Tacoma for two rehab starts. Fans of the Tacoma Rainiers are going to be in for a treat when King Felix takes the mound, especially because it sounds like he is having no issues with his recovery from a shoulder issue. Hernandez threw a two-inning simulated game before the Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night (June 2), coming away with only good things to say about the performance.

“I just want to pitch. It felt good. I had no problems at all. I threw everything.”

Now the Mariners will have Hernandez stretch out his arm under low-pressure situations down in Tacoma. The team is working hard to take it slow in his injury recovery, as everyone knows how important he will be to the starting rotation down the stretch. It’s similar to the approach the team took with James Paxton and as previously reported by the Inquisitr, that has worked out very well so far. Now Paxton may have taken over as the true ace of the pitching staff.

Some bad news was provided in a Jean Segura injury update, as his high ankle sprain has not come with a good prognosis from the team. The league-leader in batting average sprained his ankle on Thursday night (June 1) against the Colorado Rockies. Now Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto fears that Segura could be on the sidelines for as long as two months this summer. It’s difficult to predict how an ankle injury is going to respond to treatment, but losing his bat for that long could be tough for the Mariners to deal with.

Outfielder Mitch Haniger is with the Seattle Mariners to take batting practice alongside the team this weekend. If everything continues to look good with his swing, the Mariners will be sending him on a rehab assignment next week. That could mean he is less than 10 days from rejoining the 25-man roster and improving the offense almost immediately. Before he got hurt, Haniger was leading the team in a number of offensive categories, showing how important his bat could be to the lineup during the second half of the season.

As for the even worse Seattle Mariners injury updates, those belong to pitchers Drew Smyly and Hisashi Iwakuma. During a recent bullpen session, Iwakuma started experiencing soreness in his shoulder, causing the team to slow down his rehab schedule. Iwakuma was already on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation and could be lost for a while.

Smyly still isn’t pitching yet, meaning he isn’t close to a return from having a “soggy” arm during Spring Training, but he has an estimated timetable of finally returning at the end of June if everything goes well. That’s a big “if” for him. There is still a lot that needs to go right for Smyly to take the mound again, including pitching sessions where he experiences no pain.

Despite all the Mariners injuries and the big names that have been added to the disabled list, the team has still found a way to remain competitive in the MLB Wild Card race. Entering play on Saturday (June 3), the Mariners trail the second Wild Card team by just four games, showing how a nice winning streak could put the team right back in the thick of things. What the team and fans need to see is for Felix Hernandez and Mitch Haniger to do well in their rehab stints and provide some good news in the next round of Seattle Mariners injury updates.

[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]

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