Brock & Salk: A word stands out in Julio’s All-Star decision

The Seattle Mariners announced surprising news Friday morning that Julio Rodríguez will not attend next week’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

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In a statement, the Mariners said their center fielder would “take the break to recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Rodríguez later echoed that sentiment in a statement of his own on social media.

“As much as I would love to be out there, I want to take this time to take care of my body and fully prepare for the second half of the season,” part of Rodríguez’s statement reads.

After the news on Rodríguez broke, Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk shared their reaction. What really stood out to co-host Mike Salk was the word “recuperate” in the Mariners’ statement.

“I don’t know what that means. If you mean recuperate in terms of resting, OK, that’s normal,” Salk said. “Is Julio fighting something? I mean, one thing we do know about history of athletes is when guys are significantly below their expectations, many times they’re dealing with something that we don’t know about.

“Could that be the case for Julio? I’m not saying it is. I don’t want to make an excuse for him, but that word recuperate jumps out to me a little bit.”

“What would that be?” co-host Brock Huard asked. “He’s been able to run, been able to throw, been able to take BP every day.”

“Maybe it’s just getting him off his feet,” Salk responded.

More: Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez will not attend All-Star Game in Atlanta

Rodríguez, a fourth-year pro, was named to his third All-Star Game on Sunday.

Rodríguez has remained one of baseball’s best defensive center fielders, but his offensive production this season made his selection a controversial pick.

The 24 year old is hitting .244 with a .687 OPS, 11 home runs and 44 RBIs. His 100 OPS+ is right at league average.

“Maybe he’s saying, hey, I don’t feel like an All-Star. I’m embarrassed to go,” Salk said. “I don’t know, but it makes me at least wonder if he’s dealing with something that just hasn’t been quite right (but) doesn’t keep him out of games, doesn’t keep him from practice or anything like that. Just a thought as Julio is not gonna go to the All-Star Game.”

Huard sees a sliver lining in the news.

“That’s like the best news for the Mariners. That’s great news,” he said. “Individually now he still gets voted to the All-Star Game. So I guess he could still be considered a three-time All-Star. But quite honestly for the Mariners, they need to get him right.

“And for him to travel to Atlanta, to be in that heat (and) humidity, to do all of that stuff – for as much maybe fun as it would be to be around his peers and do all of that, I kinda celebrate that (he is not going). As long as it’s not some back or some significant injury.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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