Mariners lose Putz to ribcage injury
SEATTLE – The one player the Seattle Mariners thought they could count on most during their season of high expectations is gone after just two games.
All-Star closer J.J. Putz went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a ribcage injury, leaving Seattle with a closer-by-committee indefinitely.
Asked if he was “bummed” Putz nodded his head up and down, gave a cold, blank stare and said, “That’s a pretty safe comment.”
Seattle filled his roster spot by purchasing the contract of right-hander Roy Corcoran from Triple-A Tacoma.
“Nobody wanted to see that happen, especially with the high hopes this year,” Corcoran said of how he got to the Mariners for the first time.
Putz, who converted 40 of 42 save opportunities last season, blew one Tuesday night by allowing a go-ahead home run to Texas’ Josh Hamilton in the top of the ninth inning. Putz said he felt pain “like an ice pick stabbing me in the side” on a pitch to the batter before Hamilton. A doctor reading an MRI exam Wednesday morning said Putz had mild inflammation where the cartilage attaches to a rib on his right side.
“When I heard what it was, it was encouraging. It was the best of the bad news,” said Putz, who was still in pain on Wednesday when he moved his torso.
Putz blew his first save in his second game of the season, after saving Seattle’s win Monday. He didn’t blow his first save last year until July 25.
“I knew pretty much last night we were going to miss some time, because of how sore it was,” he said. “It was sore on every pitch.”
“I actually feel better today than I did (Tuesday night),” Mariners manager John McLaren said. “I didn’t sleep one minute with the thought of what could have been with J.J.”
The M’s were relieved Putz didn’t have severe inflammation or something requiring a long recovery time, such as a strained oblique muscle. Reluctant to provide an exact timetable, head trainer Rick Griffin said Putz would not be out as long as former Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki was in 2003 with broken ribs in an area similar to Putz’s swelling. Sasaki missed two months.