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Seattle Mariners Rumors: Felix Hernandez Return Delayed, More Time In Tacoma For Cy Young Winner

By Ryan DeVault
Published on: 13:53 PST, Jun 11, 2017

Seattle Mariners rumors indicate the team is slowing down Felix Hernandez’s return and that he is going to spend some extra time with the Tacoma Rainiers. Following a really rough outing in his first rehab start, giving up five runs in just two innings of work, the Mariners decided to slow down the rehab stint for Hernandez.

A report by the Seattle Times states that Felix Hernandez will make at least three rehab starts before the Mariners remove him from the disabled list. Not only does it give the former Cy Young Award winner more time to stretch out his arm, but it prolongs a decision that the Mariners will have to make about the starting rotation. Someone is going to be the odd man out and will either get sent back to Tacoma or designated for assignment.

Mariners manager Scott Servais spoke at length about the decision to hold back Hernandez.

“We’ve talked to Felix, and with how the first one went, we want to make sure he’s ready to go when he goes out there at the big league level. He will probably do another rehab after that. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. It’s the best thing for him at this time. We are trying to plan for the long haul. We don’t want to rush Felix back and then 10 days from now or two weeks from now, he’s not feeling good and we have to skip a start or something like that. Let’s make sure he’s completely right and on top of his game.”

Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre told the media that Felix Hernandez was not pleased with the news that he would have to go through another rehab start, but the coaching staff was united in the thought process that he needed more time to prepare for Major League hitting. There had been Seattle Mariners rumors floating around about him returning to the team on Monday (June 12), but that will no longer be the case with his next scheduled start to come for the Tacoma Rainiers.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Felix Hernandez was placed on the disabled list at the end of April with right shoulder inflammation. At the time, the coaching staff stated that Hernandez was working with a “dead arm” and that he was going to go through a rehab process to make sure that he didn’t damage it further. The team took a slow approach with Hernandez in order to make sure that it wasn’t a lingering problem, but Mariners fans may finally get to see him on the field again before the end of the month.

A report by the Tacoma News Tribune relayed information about Felix Hernandez making his second start for Tacoma on Sunday afternoon (June 11). This particular portion of the Seattle Mariners rumors is very good news, as he reportedly looked “very sharp” in the outing. Hernandez was perfect through the first 14 batters and used just 64 pitches to finish five innings. It was a marked improvement over what he did in his first rehab start.

Felix Hernandez had a tough time for the Mariners at the beginning of the season, posting a 4.73 ERA, 1.575 WHIP, and 2-2 record through five starts. He also only lasted 26 2/3 innings in those appearances, suggesting to some fans and analysts that something might be wrong. Now with some time to first rest his arm and then get his control back on the mound, it looks like Hernandez is heading in the right direction during his rehab assignment. For the Seattle Mariners to do well in the second half, Hernandez will need to play an important role on the roster.

[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]

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