Adrian Sampson suffers injury but Mariners’ rotation might not be impacted

DETROIT – It’s never good to see the trainer come out to the hill and it’s shocking to see it before first pitch, but that was the scene Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Everything looked normal as recent Mariners call-up Adrian Sampson made his first couple of warm-up pitches. Then he made another, which prompted catcher Chris Iannetta to immediately point to the dugout. Trainer Rick Griffin, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. and manager Scott Servais met Sampson mid-way between the mound and home plate. Not much more than a minute later, they all left the field.

Right elbow discomfort is what was announced in the press box as the reason for Sampson’s exit. He will be further evaluated Friday in Seattle.

Sampson had been called up last week after the Mariners placed Wade Miley on the disabled list with left shoulder impingement. He made his MLB debut over the weekend against Boston. After Thursday’s 5-4 loss to Detroit, Sampson told the media that he had experienced a normal work week right up until the end of his warm-up in the bullpen, when he said he felt a bit tired.

“I thought it was just normal fatigue after throwing the 35 pitches,” he said.

Sampson felt the same fatigue on the few warm-up pitches he threw on the field. When he went to throw a slider, he felt something else.

“It didn’t grab at all, just more discomfort from getting that rotation in there,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what it was, but it just didn’t feel right. I felt the best for my health that I should come out of the game.”

Sampson, who had Tommy John surgery in high school in 2009, said this was different as there was no pop. Still, it was clear he was concerned with what he felt.

So where does this leave the Mariners? As terrible as this is for Sampson, and as dramatic and dire as it looks for the club with its recent cavalcade of pitcher injuries, the rotation could actually be semi-okay if all goes according to plan.

The off day Monday helps as does the addition of Wade LeBlanc, who will start Friday. Miley is scheduled to throw a rehab game for Everett Friday and is expected to return to the rotation Wednesday. If Taijuan Walker can indeed go Thursday – which is the plan, according to what general manager Jerry Dipoto told me – then the Mariners have a rotation of Miley, Hisashi Iwakuma, Walker, Nathan Karns and James Paxton heading into the All-Star break. If all continues to go well with Felix Hernandez’s rehab, then we should see him right after the break.

There is the matter of the bullpen, which is a mess after having to pitch long in multiple games on this road trip. Over the last two weeks, the Mariners’ pen has thrown 58.1 innings, by far the most in baseball. In that time, Mariners relievers have taken seven losses.

I would anticipate a number of moves Friday.

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