Mariners notebook: Corey Hart back to DL with knee contusion

BALTIMORE – The roster mystery is no more. James Paxton has been activated, and to make room for him Blake Beavan has been removed (outrighted) from the 40-man roster and will remain in Tacoma, where he has been pitching since mid-July.

In addition to the Beavan move, the team has placed Corey Hart on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee contusion that he suffered when he slid into the wall in Cleveland attempting to make a catch.

Hart’s knee bothered him the next day, but soreness is something players play through every day.

“I still wanted to play. I kept trying to right it,” he said. “It got to the point where I was tired of hitting balls that didn’t go anywhere because I didn’t have any legs. That put it over the top. I probably shouldn’t have played yesterday but I was hoping I would find it.”

Yesterday it became clear that he wasn’t doing himself or the team any favors trying to play hurt. He can’t be what he thinks he should be at the plate with the knee contusion.

“I’ve been giving myself false hope,” he said. “The legs were never there. Right now I’m not competitive. It’s because I haven’t had the legs to help me. Hopefully these guys can get it fixed pretty quick. I’d love to get back and be competitive for the last month but I don’t want to come back and do what I have been doing.”

Lineup!

Austin Jackson, 8
Dustin Ackley, 7
Robinson Cano, 4
Kendrys Morales, DH
Kyle Seager, 5
Logan Morrison, 3
Chris Taylor, 6
Endy Chavez, 9
Jesus Sucre, 2

James Paxton

Notes

• James Paxton is a full-go and has no restrictions tonight after four rehab games.

• I talked to Austin Jackson today for the player interview on the radio pregame show and asked about the dramatic jump in numbers he has had in July. Before July he was hitting .242/.309/.355/.664, but since July 1 he is .349/.390/.505/.894. He told me there was one very big change – he was put back in the leadoff position. When the Tigers added Rajai Davis they put him in the No. 1 spot in the order and moved Jackson around. It was not an easy adjustment for him, and the team put him back at the top of the order on July 1 and the results were dramatic.

“I think moving back to the top of the lineup definitely had a little to do with that just because that’s where I have hit all of my career,” he told me. “Trying to make the adjustment from getting on base and trying to score runs to trying to drive runs in is a big adjustment. I think once I could clear my mind of worrying about trying to get this run in so much, I was kind of able to relax and play my game.”