Mariners place Taijuan Walker on DL, send Mike Zunino to Triple-A
Jul 6, 2016, 1:50 PM | Updated: 2:44 pm
The Mariners will be without Taijuan Walker (injured) and Mike Zunino (demoted) after Wednesday's moves. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners are sending Taijuan Walker to the disabled list and Mike Zunino back to Triple-A.
Taking their roster spots are catcher Jesus Sucre and left-handed reliever David Rollins.
Walker left his start against Houston on Tuesday after four innings due to a nagging foot injury, marking the third time in his last four outings he was pulled early. The Mariners placed him on the 15-day disabled list with right foot tendinitis. While the Mariners can ill afford another injured starting pitcher, the good news is that Felix Hernandez is getting closer to his return.
Sucre was activated from the 60-day disabled list to back up Chris Iannetta, allowing the Mariners to send Zunino to Tacoma, where he can continue to be the primary catcher rather than splitting time. To make room on the 40-man roster for Sucre, the Mariners transferred catcher Steve Clevenger (fractured right third metacarpal) to the 60-day disabled list.
Zunino’s latest stay with Seattle was a short, albeit memorable, one. The 25-year-old played in two games since being called up last Thursday, the first of which was a two-homer performance at Safeco Field on Saturday. He went 2 for 7 with a walk, a strikeout, the two home runs and three RBIs in his two games. In Triple-A this year, Zunino has a .282 average, an .882 OPS, 15 home runs, 51 RBIs, 28 walks and 62 strikeouts over 69 games.
Sucre, 28, was completing a rehab assignment after recovering from a broken leg suffered in winter ball in January when the Mariners called up Zunino last week following Clevenger’s injury. Sucre hit .158 in five games during his rehab stint with Tacoma. In 81 career MLB games over the last three seasons with Seattle, he has a .178 average, one home run and 15 RBIs.
Walker is 4-7 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 80 strikeouts and 18 walks over 86 innings (16 starts).
Rollins, who is making his third stop with Seattle this season, has thrown four scoreless innings for the Mariners over four appearances.
