Dealing with ‘nagging soreness,’ Tony Zych placed on 15-day DL by Mariners
May 4, 2016, 8:06 AM | Updated: May 5, 2016, 5:38 pm
OAKLAND – Surprise news this afternoon as the Mariners announced they have placed reliever Tony Zych on the 15-day DL with shoulder tendinitis.
According to Scott Servais, Zych has been dealing with a “nagging soreness” for the past week to 10 days which prompted the Mariners to back off him a bit. On Sunday, he struck out all three batters he faced in the Mariners’ 4-1 loss to the Royals. While everything felt good Sunday, that was not the case Monday.
“He came in yesterday and was real sore so we thought it was best we get him checked out. He headed back to Seattle today to have the doctor take a look at him,” said Servais.
There is no word on how long he is expected to miss, we could hear more after the game.
To take his place, Steve Johnson, 28, was called up. Johnson was signed as a minor league free agent March 16 two days after being released by the Rangers.
“Real professional, attacks the strike zone,” answered Servais when asked what he knew about Johnson. “I don’t know that he’s got overpowering stuff but the reports at Triple-A have been very, very good. A guy that can go multiple innings out of the bullpen.”
In Tacoma, Johnson had given up four earned runs in 16 innings, holding opponents to a .185 average while walking two and striking out 20. Prior to signing with the Mariners, he appeared in parts of three seasons with the Orioles going 5-1 with a 4.25 ERA in 59.1 innings over 27 appearances, which included five starts. In the clubhouse prior to the game against the A’s, Johnson admitted that he has been on a roll recently.
“When I’m healthy and throwing strikes I know I can be really effective,” he said. “I’m just in a groove now and hoping to continue it here.”
With Zych down, the Mariners no longer have a high-velocity arm in the pen. Johnson is expected to pitch earlier in games and multiple innings, which will push others into higher leverage situations. We saw that Monday night with Nick Vincent coming in to get two righties out in the seventh inning.
The Mariners now have five relievers on the DL: Charlie Furbush, Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Cook, Evan Scribner and Zych. Despite this, they still hold the best ERA in baseball since April 13 at 1.57.
