Mariners Notebook: Moore’s setback, Haggerty and Muñoz nearing returns

The Seattle Mariners revealed two good pieces of news on the injury front ahead of Friday’s series opener with the St. Louis Cardinals and one bit of bad news.

The good news? Utility man Sam Haggerty (concussion) has been cleared and could return as soon as Saturday, manager Scott Servais said. Additionally, ace reliever Andrés Muñoz (deltoid strain) threw a bullpen session that went well and he will be joining Triple-A Tacoma next week to throw a live batting practice session. If that goes well, Muñoz will begin a multi-appearance rehab assignment.

“He is progressing. Everything has been good, feels good, he’s responding really good the next day, so I feel very good about him rejoining us,” Servais said. “I don’t know if he makes it during the next road trip. I’m hopeful that he is (with us) when we get back to the West Coast, maybe in Oakland. If not, he could join us when we get back here at home.”

After this three-game set with the Cardinals, the Mariners fly to Philadelphia to face the Phillies Tuesday-Thursday before going international Friday-Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Right after that, the Mariners play in Oakland against the A’s May 2-4 before coming home to face the Houston Astros May 5-7. As Servais noted, he expects Muñoz back for one of those two series.

The bad injury news? Utility man Dylan Moore (oblique) began his rehab assignment recently, but is shutting things down for the time being.

“Well, anytime it gets pushed back, there’s concern,” Servais said. “I think the latest I’ve heard on Dylan’s situation is he’s got some lingering effects. He doesn’t feel 100%. So he’s gonna get checked out again by a doctor and see where it goes from there. That’s about all I know. He had the one rehab outing in Everett and he’s not ready to go do another one yet.”

Mariners Lineup

Julio Rodríguez, CF
Ty France, 1B
Eugenio Suárez, 3B
Teoscar Hernández, RF
AJ Pollock, DH
Jarred Kelenic, LF
Tom Murphy, C
Jose Caballero, 2B
J.P. Crawford, SS

George Kirby, SP

Cardinals Lineup

Brendan Donovan, 2B
Alec Burleson, LF
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Nolan Arenado, 3B
Willson Contreras, C
Nolan Gorman, DH
Lars Nootbar, CF
Jordan Walker, RF
Tommy Edman, SS

Steven Matz, SP

Seattle Mariners Notes

• With the Cardinals starting a lefty in Steven Matz, Friday is the third start in a row for Jose Caballero, and his second straight start at second base.

Caballero made his MLB debut last Saturday as a defensive replacement against the Colorado Rockies, and he started the last two games for the Mariners.

Even though he’s just 1-for-8 (.125) to start his big league career, Servais likes what he’s seen from the 26-year-old infielder.

“I think Cabby has handled everything thrown at him very well,” Servais said. “He has not been wide-eyed, he’s not afraid. He’s playing like he’s always played, which is good. You never know when guys get to the big leagues for the first time. I think the quality of his at-bats have been very good. I think he’s had eight at-bats and hit four balls pretty good. He’s taken a walk, he’s aggressive on the bases, he’s played good D.

“You’ll see Cabby move around, too. He’s at second tonight, he’s played third base in career, obviously was at short the other night. So you’ll see him move around as we go forward.”

• Jarred Kelenic entered the season as a platoon guy in left field, but his bat is keeping him in the lineup against lefty starters. Kelenic is 4-for-11 (.376) with a home run and three RBIs off lefties this year, and 4-for-10 (.400) against left-handed starting pitchers.

• Cal Raleigh, a switch hitter, is not in the lineup against the lefty starter, with Tom Murphy getting the start behind the plate.

“Looking at the schedule and certainly Cal being a switch hitter, it leaves a lot of options,” Servais said. “I think Murphy, he’s done his damage against left-handed pitching. We had a lefty (starter) the other day, off day (Thursday), getting a lefty tonight, then (the Cardinals will) come back with two righties, so you probably see Cal in there. But yeah, we need everybody to contribute, hopefully it’s an opportunity to get Murph going a little bit with a little bit more consistent at bat. So we’ll see.”

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