SHANNON DRAYER

Mariners notebook: Nelson Cruz will play through wrist pain

Sep 26, 2016, 5:01 PM | Updated: 5:14 pm

HOUSTON – It is that time of year. Dings, dents and major pain do not factor into the equation for the Mariners’ Nelson Cruz, not with meaningful games left to play.

“I am going to play regardless of what it is,” he said of pain he is experiencing in his left wrist. “But I definitely want to know what’s going on.”

Cruz had an MRI on his left wrist Monday morning in Houston but told the media that afternoon he was awaiting the results. What he knows is he felt pain in his wrist swinging a weighted bat in the finale against Toronto last Wednesday. It flared up again on a swing in his second at-bat of Sunday’s game against the Twins. He stepped out of the box, had the trainer massage it and was able to step back in and hit a home run.

That was the end of his game, however. The medical staff told manager Scott Servais it was best to take him out so they could get to work on Cruz’s wrist in hopes he would be available Monday.

“Hopefully he’s OK today,” Servais said. “We won’t know for 100 percent certainty until we get out there. You will probably see some swings where he grimaces, you will probably see a little bit longer time for him to get into the box. Hopefully he can gut it out.”

Cruz, who was wearing a brace on the wrist hours before the game, will limit his swings that don’t count.

“I just want to stay loose, not try to do to much,” he said. “I guess taking BP at this point is not necessary, especially with what I am dealing with.”

The biggest thing he is dealing with right now is pain when he swings. With the team in contention, he will swing through it.

“It is something he is going to try to have to manage, see if he can play through it,” Servais said. “Hopefully it doesn’t get worse.”

Notes

• Tacoma Rainiers manager Pat Listach, who lives in the Houston area, has joined the team for the three-game series against the Astros. He could bring a little extra intel as he was the third base coach in Houston in 2014. “We had our staff meeting earlier before the game and we talked about some of these guys,” he said on the radio pregame show. “I am pretty familiar with most of the guys who are still here from two years ago. I have some inside information on these guys.” All hands on deck…

• Jerry Dipoto has added to his staff once again, naming Scott Hunter the director of amateur scouting. Hunter, who just completed his 22nd year in professional baseball, has spent the last three years with the Mariners as international crosschecker.

• The Mariners also announced today that they have renamed their minor league awards. The awards are now known as the Ken Griffey Jr. Minor League Hitter of the Year Award, the Jamie Moyer Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award, the Edgar Mariners PTPA (Productive Team Plate Appearance) Award, The Alvin Davis “Mr. Mariner” Award, the Dan Wilson Minor League Community Service Player of the Year Award and the Dave Henderson Minor League Staff Member of the Year Award. They will all be presented at a pregame ceremony before Saturday’s game against Oakland.

Mariners Roof Report

Brought to you by
Patchy Fog then Mostly Sunny
High 66° | Low 43°
Roof is open
Rockies at Mariners today at 1:10pm

Shannon Drayer

Seattle Mariners Luis Castillo...

Shannon Drayer

Mariners Notebook: Opening day starter set, plus a pitch clock wrinkle

Shannon Drayer details the makeup of the Seattle Mariners' planned 2024 starting rotation and opening day starter, plus much more from Arizona.

13 hours ago

Seattle Mariners Logan Gilbert...

Shannon Drayer

Seattle Mariners Notebook: Checking in on the pitchers

Seattle Mariners' Shannon Drayer caught up with Logan Gilbert after a good outing, and has notes on Luis Castillo, Matt Brash and more.

1 day ago

Seattle Mariners Scott Servais...

Shannon Drayer

Drayer: How Mariners and Servais view start of season differently

After some slow starts in years past, the Seattle Mariners plan to approach the start of the season differently, Scott Servais says.

2 days ago

Seattle Mariners Lazaro Montes...

Shannon Drayer

Drayer: Why 2 young Mariners prospects are of particular interest

Recent iInternational free agent signings Lazaro Montes and Felnin Celesten are two Seattle Mariners prospects worthy of attention.

3 days ago

Seattle Mariners Harry Ford...

Shannon Drayer

Mariners vets show they have the backs of top prospects

"This group of veteran players on our team is probably the most open with young players as any group I have ever been around," Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

4 days ago

Seattle Mariners Gregory Santos...

Shannon Drayer

Mariners’ Gregory Santos has setback, but may have avoided worse injury

New Seattle Mariners reliever Gregory Santos is still dealing with a lat issue, though the hope is that he stopped throwing at the right time.

7 days ago

Mariners notebook: Nelson Cruz will play through wrist pain