Julio Rodríguez Hamstring Injury Raises Roster Management Questions

The Mariners lost 5-3 on Wednesday, with stagnant offense and uninspiring low-leverage relief pitching, but the biggest news from the day was that the continuing injury steamroller picked up another victim. Julio Rodríguez wasn’t in the lineup on Thursday after getting injured during Wednesday’s game. Despite scoring the only run the team had through the first eight innings on the 125th double of his career, a rough at-bat in the bottom of the sixth was his last appearance on the day.

Rodríguez left the game as the top of the seventh began. Rob Refsnyder entered the game in right field and Víctor Robles moved over to center, stretching the in-game roster to its limits considering their day-to-day injuries. Refsnyder faced the right-handed Yennier Cano with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, popping out to end the inning without any runs coming through, but the longer-term worry regards Rodríguez and what is being called a hamstring spasm.

The center fielder, according to skipper Dan Wilson, suffered this spasm jumping for a low fly ball in the top of the sixth. The team checked in on him after the half inning and took him out after re-checking at the end of the sixth. Wilson elaborated on Thursday that Rodríguez had been recovering well from the injury, only out of the game due to the quick turnaround from the night game to the day game. But these things can take unexpected twists and turns even if that was a fully truthful statement.