Mariners activate Julio Rodríguez from IL, slot him at DH

Julio Rodríguez is officially back in the Seattle Mariners’ lineup.

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The Mariners activated the 23-year-old star center fielder from the injured list and slotted him at the No. 4 spot their lineup as the designated hitter for Sunday night’s series finale against the New York Mets, which marks the first time Seattle has hosted an ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball” game in 20 years.

Rodríguez has been sidelined with a high-ankle sprain in his right ankle since crashing into the outfield wall in an attempt to catch a fly ball on July 21.

“Our medical people felt that he was good to go. Julio feels he’s good to go. So we’ll get him in there,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said prior to Sunday’s game. “He will be the DH today and we’ll see how that goes. … He’s anxious to get in there and help the team any way he can.”

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported earlier in the day that Rodríguez was expected to be activated and slotted at designated hitter for Sunday’s primetime game, but that it remains unclear when he could return to playing center field.

Rodríguez has been taking pregame batting practice over the past week, while also running the bases and doing some light fielding drills. Earlier this month, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said the biggest challenge to Rodríguez’s recovery would be progressing to the point where he can make the sharp cuts and sudden changes of direction he would need to play center field.

Servais said the club doesn’t have a timeline yet as to when Rodríguez could return to the field. The Mariners have an off day Monday before starting a nine-game road trip against the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. Seattle (62-56) is currently in a virtual tie with the Houston Astros atop the American League West.

“You just have to wait and see how he feels coming through the game today, coming out of the game,” Servais said. “… The medical staff and he will let me know when he’s capable of getting hopefully back in the outfield as soon as possible. But I have no timeline on that.”

After a perplexing first half of the season at the plate, Rodríguez started to heat up prior to his injury. In his 13 games prior to getting hurt, he batted .460 with four home runs and three doubles in 37 at-bats. For the season, he is batting .263/.315/.372 with 11 homers, nine doubles, 18 stolen bases and a .687 OPS.

Over his first two seasons in the majors, Rodríguez slashed a combined .279/.338/.495 with 60 homers and an .834 OPS. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2022 and finished fourth in the American League MVP voting in 2023.

“He’s one of the better hitters in the league and he was going so good before he got hurt,” Servais said. “And then you lose him. Not playing for a couple weeks, obviously the timing may be a little off today. … But (it’s) great having him back in our lineup. Hopefully it peps some other guys around him.”

To make room on the active roster, the Mariners optioned rookie second baseman Ryan Bliss back to Triple-A Tacoma. The 24-year-old Bliss, who was called up for his second major league stint this past Wednesday, hit a two-run homer in Friday’s 6-0 win over the Mets.

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