Mariners notebook: SS Ketel Marte will play Triple-A rehab games
May 27, 2016, 4:44 PM | Updated: 5:12 pm
The Mariners expect injured shortstop Ketel Marte to be activated as soon as he becomes eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list, and he will play some rehab games with Triple-A Tacoma leading up to his return.
Manager Scott Servais said before Friday’s series opener with the Twins that the swelling has gone down on Marte’s sprained left thumb, and general manager Jerry Dipoto told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” Thursday that he’s set to start baseball activity again this weekend.
“Ketel’s actually done very well,” Dipoto said. “Right now he’s eligible to come off the DL on (June 6) when we open up the series with the Indians here at home, and our expectation is that he should be back on the field in the big leagues by then. He’s not gonna have missed a ton of time; he is doing very well in his recovery. In all likelihood, once he’s acclimated himself to the baseball routine here in the next three of four days, we’ll probably try to get him out for a couple of games down in Tacoma, just to get him back in the groove, get some timing going.”
Related: Is Mariners first baseman Adam Lind starting to heat up?
The 22-year-old Marte has been out since May 21, when he injured the thumb with a headfirst slide in Cincinnati. He’s hitting .276 with 21 runs scored, 14 RBIs and five stolen bases.
Luis Sardinas was recalled from Tacoma earlier this week to man the starting shortstop job with Marte out, after a brief call-up for Chris Taylor ended after a two-error night last Monday. Utility man Shawn O’Malley is the second option at short, but he may be busy in center field with Leonys Martin hitting the DL on Friday with a strained left hamstring.
Notes
• Servais had to wait until after 5 p.m. to complete the Mariners’ lineup for the opener with the Twins because they were trying to determine if Martin needed to be placed on the DL. The Mariners’ hottest hitter over the past nine games, Martin came up lame after stealing a bag against the A’s. Nori Aoki and O’Malley are the options in center with Martin out, while outfielder Stefen Romero has been recalled for insurance.
• Relief pitcher Tony Zych, who is on the DL with a shoulder injury, was throwing on a long-toss program Friday. Servais said he was “progressing” and “getting stretched out,” but the hard-throwing righty has yet to graduate to throwing off a mound.
• Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit Friday and shared a few interesting things. He said he would be shocked if Mike Zunino doesn’t play for the Mariners this season, and that ideally the catcher would come up when rosters expand in September. Dipoto also called the trade to get Wade Miley from Boston the toughest trade he made in the offseason “because of the high esteem we held Carson Smith in.” You can read the entire transcript here, but being that Reddit is an open internet forum, you may encounter some NSFW language.
