James Paxton Last night, he returned to the Mariners turn after two years in the Bronx, but his start was cut short by another forearm injury as he retired after only 1 1/3 innings. Outfielder Jake Fraleymeanwhile left the game with what the team later announced as a thigh muscle after making a dive in the left field. Both players will undergo an MRI this morning, manager Scott Servais told reporters after the game (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times).
Paxton’s 2020 season with the Yankees has been cut short by a forearm, so it’s obviously a worrying development for him to suffer this type of injury – especially so early in the season. The left did tell Divish and others that the pain he felt in his arm was not at the same level as when he sustained that injury last summer.
The Mariners brought Paxton to the organization during the winter on a one-time $ 8.5 million free agency contract. The 32-year-old has had interest from several teams, as one would expect based on his success, but he apparently chose to return to Seattle. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto noted during the signing that Paxton had been training hard for MLB teams and giving the club something of a ‘hometown discount’.
The reunion seems to be going well in Spring Training, where Paxton hit half of the 34 batsmen he faced and allowed just one run during Cactus League game. For now, he has struck an optimistic tone that the current issue may be muscular in nature and something from which he can return quickly.
As for Fraley, the 20-year-old has begun his 2021 season unusually. He only played 1 to 10 through five games, but he ran eight runs and was hit by a field, which resulted in a bizarre .100 / .500 / .200 batting surface through his first 19 plate appearances. Obtaining the rays as part of the Mike Zunino Fraley, who has not been in 2019-20 in the previous two tournaments with the Mariners, but he only made 70 record appearances during that time. He’s a career of .286 / .362 / .480 in minors – including a .276 / .333 / .553 appearing in 38 Triple-A games.
For the moment, however, it seems that an IL stint may be imminent, which will be able to keep an eye on the baseball world. The simplest step for the Ms is to remember Braden Bishop from their alternative website because he’s already in his 40s, but Seattle also has the prospect Jarred Kelenic on the verge of his first major league promotion.
Kelenic’s service status was put in the national spotlight when former CEO Kevin Mather blatantly indicated in a question and answer with the Bellevue Rotary Club that the 21-year-old Kelenic had turned down an extension offer and not to the Majors will not be called. until mid-April (the general point at which the Mariners would gain an extra year of control over Kelenic). Kelenic missed some time in Spring Training with a minor knee injury, but returned to the series and was immediately 3-for-6 with twins and a homer in two games before being transferred back to league camp. , so the injury looks behind him.
It still seems likely that the Mariners will turn to Bishop for the time being, as Kelenic’s call would still give him enough time to get a full year of service in the Major League in 2021. That would no longer be the case so soon. than the following weekend, however.
If we go back to the yard staff, the Mariners have already used a six-man rotation, so it’s likely that they’ll only shorten to five beginners for now and carry some extra relief. The bullpen had to take 7 2/3 innings last night and got a pack of punches in the process, so Seattle probably prefer to get a fresh arm in the relief mix anyway.
It is at least worth noting that the Mariners, just like in the Fraley / Kelenic situation, have a highly regarded pitching prospect ready near MLB: first round of 2018 Logan Gilbert. Although this remark did not attract as much attention as the Kelenic revelation, Mather indicated in the same interview that he expected Gilbert to perform in the Majors by mid-April (an allusion to his tenure). However, Gilbert only threw a few innings in Spring Training before being relegated to the league camp, so he may not be built up to the point where he is an option, even if Paxton is drafted for a significant period. . . If the Mariners want to keep a six-man rotation and miss Paxton for a while, they can start a few times Ljay Newsome and / or Nick Margevicius. Before long, however, it appears that Gilbert is likely to appear at the major league level as an option.