Will Mariners use Julio Rodriguez at DH as he recovers from ankle injury?
SEATTLE – Mariners manager Scott Servais leaned on the rail of the first-base dugout, watching Julio Rodriguez do some basic drills with outfield coach Kristopher Negron.
With Negron tossing baseballs in the air, Rodriguez worked on fly-ball routes, moving laterally and at various angles while Rob Scheidegger, who oversees the team’s high-performance staff, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Connor Hughes both watched intently.
Working his way back from a high right ankle sprain, Rodriguez moved cautiously at times and gingerly at others, particularly when he tried to slow down. He didn’t look completely comfortable at something he normally makes look so easy.
Asked about what he was looking for from his center fielder in those drills, Servais replied: “Probably not going to comment on anything on Julio till I talk to the (athletic) trainers, but that’s a really good question.”
What did he hope to see?
“We’ll wait till I talk to the trainers,” Servais said again.
But it may be more about what Servais saw when Rodriguez took on-field batting practice for the second straight day.
Watching from the back of the cage along with hitting coaches Jarrett DeHart and Tommie Hunter and special consultant Edgar Martinez, Servais watched intently as Rodriguez took four rounds of swings off Carson Vitale.
Rodriguez wasn’t cautious or careful in those rounds. He took aggressive swings. He also ran the bases in between his rounds.
While it seems obvious that Rodriguez still isn’t ready to return to center field, sources indicate the Mariners are hoping to activate Rodriguez from the injured list in the coming days and use him as the designated hitter to add some more punch to their lineup.
Servais has said on multiple occasions that the ankle doesn’t bother Rodriguez when he’s hitting.
With Victor Robles more than capable of handling center field and the versatility of Luke Raley to play all three outfield spots and first base, the Mariners could add Rodriguez as a temporary designated hitter as his ankle continues to get to full strength. With Mitch Garver having his playing time reduced to a backup catcher role due to his struggles at the plate and Justin Turner and Mitch Haniger capable of playing in the field, the Mariners could get Rodriguez back in the lineup as the DH rather than waiting for him to be cleared to play the outfield.
Rodriguez suffered the injury on July 21 while trying to make a catch against the wall.
In the 14 games leading up to his stint on the injured list, Rodriguez posted a .409/.469/.750 slash line in 49 plate appearances. Of his 18 hits, he had three doubles and four homers with eight runs scored and eight RBIs.
Obviously, there is the risk of reaggravating the injury by running the bases. But if the Mariners did activate Rodriguez, they would tell him to exercise caution on the bases and give him the red light for stolen base attempts. Rodriguez would need to feel some level of comfort and ankle stability while running the bases – even at 70% effort – to be cleared by the medical staff.