Mariners place Dee Gordon on DL with fractured toe
May 22, 2018, 11:03 AM | Updated: 4:05 pm
(AP)
For the second time in a week, the Mariners have lost an All-Star second baseman.
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Dee Gordon was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a fractured right great toe ahead of Tuesday’s series opener in Oakland at 7:05 p.m. on 710 ESPN Seattle. The Mariners recalled first baseman Daniel Vogelbach from Triple-A Tacoma to take Gordon’s spot on the active roster.
Gordon’s placement on the DL is retroactive to Monday, May 21.
Mariners manager Scott Servais told the media before Tuesday’s game that the team does not expect Gordon to miss more than the required 10 days on the DL.
Servais said the fracture in Gordon’s toe is minor, he doesn’t expect him to need much more than the 10 days.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) May 22, 2018
The 30-year-old Gordon was moved from center field back to his natural position of second base last Friday, taking over for Robinson Canó, who is suspended until August due to a drug policy violation.
An offseason trade acquisition from Miami, Gordon has been a stellar catalyst for the M’s as their leadoff hitter. He leads the American League with 16 stolen bases and ranks 10th with a .304 average.
Gordon had been dealing with ongoing soreness in his toe, and he was slow to get up after diving for a ball in shallow right field Sunday against Detroit. He was still able to steal second and score the winning run in the 11th inning of that game, however.
Vogelbach, 25, is hitting .301 with nine home runs, 15 RBIs and 22 walks to 10 strikeouts in 24 games with the Rainiers this season. In 19 games previously with the Mariners in 2018, he hit .204 with a pair of home runs, five RBIs and seven walks.
With Gordon out, the Mariners have two options to play second base in Gordon Beckham and Andrew Romine. Beckham was originally called up from Tacoma after Canó suffered a broken pinkie on May 13, and the Mariners were planning to make due with Beckham and Romine filling in at the spot until Canó was healthy.
Plans changed when Canó was suspended, and Seattle decided to take Gordon out of center field, a position he is still very much learning the ins and outs of, and put him back at second, where he has won a Gold Glove. Guillermo Heredia then took over as the main center fielder with Gordon at second.
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