Mitch Haniger activated from DL ahead of Mariners-Blue Jays finale
Jun 11, 2017, 9:50 AM | Updated: 4:36 pm
Mitch Haniger hit .342 with four homers before suffering an oblique injury on April 25. (AP)
(AP)
For the first time since April 25, the Seattle Mariners had their Rookie of the Year candidate in action.
Mitch Haniger was activated from the 10-day disabled list and in the lineup hitting second and playing right field in Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays after recovering from an oblique strain that lingered perhaps a little longer than he or the team expected.
Stecker: Servais sheds light on OF rotation with Haniger back
Haniger was first slated to go out on a rehab assignment three weeks ago, but soreness in the opposite oblique that he originally hurt slowed down his recovery, and it wasn’t until Tuesday that he finally saw in-game action. He appeared in five games with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers this week, going 6 for 18 with a home run, and has finally been given the go-ahead to return to the Mariners.
To make room on the active roster for Haniger, Seattle optioned outfielder Boog Powell back to Tacoma. In 20 games with the Mariners this season, Powell is hitting .179 (5 for 28) with two RBIs and six walks.
The 26-year-old Haniger came to the Mariners as the second most notable piece of the three-player return Seattle received from Arizona in a trade last November for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. And while trade centerpiece Jean Segura has been stellar when he’s been healthy for the M’s, it was Haniger who took the team by storm in the first month of the 2017 season. He hit .342 with four home runs, seven doubles, a triple, 16 RBIs and 13 walks in 21 games, firmly establishing himself as Seattle’s regular right fielder and No. 2 hitter.
Haniger’s blistering start to his Mariners career came to a screeching halt on April 25 in Detroit when he strained his oblique in the third inning of the same game that also saw longtime ace Felix Hernandez go down with an injury. Hernandez is still on a rehab assignment, and on Sunday made the second of three planned starts in the minors before his return to the M’s.
