One day after Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez crashed into the outfield wall at T-Mobile Park, manager Scott Servais shared a promising update. Servais said Rodriguez underwent an MRI on Monday and it appears he “avoided serious injury,” according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times.
Jude added Rodriguez is still day-to-day. He is not in the lineup for Seattle's game against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
“Early indications are — we’ll keep our fingers crossed — that we escaped what could have been a really bad injury,” Servais told the media during pregame availability.
Rodriguez's injury occurred Sunday against the Houston Astros as he tracked a fly ball from the Astros' Yordan Alvarez. The two-time All-Star made the catch before slamming into the wall and watching the ball bounce free. He remained on the ground, clutching his leg as the rest of the play unfolded, eventually leaving with Servais and a team trainer by his side.
“Certainly there’s a lot of adrenaline going on at that moment,” Servais said after the game. “It was a heck of a collision running into the wall. That wall’s not moving, and that’s a big dude who’s really moving fast. You’re concerned once you get out there.
“I think once he started putting a little weight on it and realized that he just twisted it, got caught up in the wall.”
Rodriguez underwent X-rays on his right ankle Sunday, which came back negative.
“Hopefully, we can escape a long absence from him,” Servais added. “He’s been swinging the bat so well here over the last couple weeks. We’re going to need him. He’s pivotal to our offense turning the corner.”
As Servais said, it's an inconvenient time for Rodriguez to go down. After a sub-par first three months compared to his first two seasons, he has caught fire in July. In 15 games this month, he's hitting .375 with a 1.122 OPS and a .500 average on balls in play.
With no word yet on whether Rodriguez will need an injured list visit, Seattle will play short-handed on Monday.
Mariners call up Jason Vosler after Julio Rodriguez injury
Before their game on Monday, Seattle optioned infielder Ryan Bliss to Triple-A Tacoma and called up Jason Vosler, who can play the infield or outfield. Vosler has played 89 games in Tacoma this season, 22 of them in the outfield. He's hitting .289 with 20 home runs and 79 RBI for the Rainiers.
Vosler has played parts of three seasons in the Majors for the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds. The 30-year-old is a career .210 hitter.
The Mariners aren't calling Vosler up to be their savior. Especially with Rodriguez out — for however long — the Mariners need more offense. Seattle ranks last in MLB with a .219 team batting average and 28th in OPS (.666). The trade deadline rumor mill has kept them linked to centerfielder Jazz Chisholm of the Miami Marlins, which would both be an offensive upgrade and a defensive depth move.
Chisholm is a centerfielder, like Rodriguez, but the Mariners could opt to put him at second base, where Jorge Polanco is hitting just .205.
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