Do Mariners have a way to get Julio back from injury faster?

Even with a pair of notable offensive additions before the July 30 MLB trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners are still struggling to score on a consistent basis – making the prolonged absence of Julio Rodríguez due to injury all the more evident.

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Rodríguez hasn’t played since July 21, which is when he suffered a high-ankle sprain colliding with the wall in center field at T-Mobile Park chasing after a hit by the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez. That means that Mariners fans still haven’t seen a lineup that includes Rodríguez along with recent trade acquisitions Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner. And with Seattle (60-56) scuffling this week to the point that it’s now virtually tied again with Houston (59-55) for first in the AL West entering Friday, it’s only getting harder to be patient waiting for the Mariners’ two-time All-Star center fielder to return.

Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports has been at the ballpark watching Rodríguez test out his injury in pregame workouts this week, and she was asked about what she’s seen when she joined Brock and Salk on Friday morning.

“We’ve been watching him the last couple of days and you can tell it’s not all there in the field,” Drayer said. “Is it getting there? I think so. I did see him speed things up a little bit in the field (Thursday) in the work that he was doing, but he’s not close to doing drills all-out when it comes to the running.”

Just because Rodríguez is Seattle’s usual center fielder doesn’t mean he has to play the field upon his return – there is always the designated hitter role, of course. Drayer cautioned against Rodríguez returning just to DH for a few reasons, however.

“There was some thought, well, you could get his bat in there (as the DH) … (but I would) want him 100%. I don’t want to compromise Julio at the plate,” she said. “He looks like he’s confident on it at the plate, but that’s not going to speed up getting him back out in the field, it’s not going to speed up getting him to 100%. I think the prudent thing would be to wait. And I know that’s tough for everybody right now, but (that’s the option) rather than battle problems for the next two months.”

She added that Rodríguez playing at less than 100% doesn’t mean he’s going to play at less than 100% effort.

“I think you’re putting the same stress on it in making the turns and running and the bursts out of the box… and we’ve seen with him, he’s hard to slow down.”

Seattle Sports host Mike Salk said he agreed with Drayer, to a point.

“I actually do think you’re right about that,” he responded. “I don’t want to see Julio back unless he can hit at 100%, but I don’t need him to be able to field at 100% in order for him to return. … I would be totally fine with him returning to DH once he’s ready rather than needing him to be able to play center field in order to return.”

When will Julio Rodriguez return to the #Mariners lineup?

Our own M’s insider @shannondrayer gives her answer to @BrockHuard and @TheMikeSalk (whether they like it or not 😂).

📻: https://t.co/ZZ3R7HG4eJ
📺: https://t.co/nOxKNgmaMm pic.twitter.com/Rqb80pe9FM

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) August 9, 2024

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Mariners insider Shannon Drayer in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Brock and Salk live from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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• How would a playoff miss alter Seattle Mariners’ offseason plans?

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