Sucre’s injury not serious; Bantz up
Jun 5, 2013, 12:25 PM | Updated: 2:03 pm
By Shannon Drayer
The Mariners appear to have dodged a bullet with the catching situation as Eric Wedge today said that after further examination of the left hand of Jesus Sucre, the hope is he will only be out three to four days.
If you follow me on Twitter – and you should @shannondrayer – then you have seen these moves already. Brandon Bantz has been called up to Tacoma to be the backup catcher until Sucre, who has not been placed on the disabled list, can return. Wedge will lean on Kelly Shoppach to make the starts until Sucre is back.
Carlos Triunfel has been sent down to get Bantz on the 25-man roster. Franklin Gutierrez has been placed on the 60-day DL to clear room on the 40-man roster for Bantz. That move is retroactive to April 23, the day Gutierrez suffered a hamstring injury. He will be eligible to come off the DL June 22 and most likely will be sent on another rehab assignment sometime soon.
The Mariners have taken some big injury hits at starting pitcher and catcher, two areas of organizational strength, heading into the year.
The thought was Erasmo Ramirez would be in the rotation coming into the spring; he, of course, is at Triple-A getting ready to make his third start since suffering a triceps injury.
Danny Hultzen could have been an option mid-season but he is coming back from injury as well.
The injury to Jesus Montero forced the Mariners to go with a guy who was at Double-A 10 days ago as a backup for the next few days. Mike Zunino was not an option, according to Wedge, who answered they “don’t want to disrupt anyone” when asked if there was a possibility he could be called up.
You can never have enough pitching, and apparently catching.
