Injuries Are Taking Their Toll On Seattle Mariners

It’s been rough to be a Seattle Mariners fan the last couple of weeks. The Mariners not too long ago were sitting in first place in the AL West, ready to break the playoff drought of the last 15 years. Now, their team is falling apart and there is no one who can help. The injuries have finally come.

It started with a sprained thumb for Ketel Marte on a slide into second base. It was the first major injury for the Mariners this season that was not part of the bullpen. A sprained thumb is nothing in the long scheme of things, though. Marte is already playing in Tacoma, just getting ready for when he is at full strength.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of things. Shortly after Marte’s injury, Leonys Martin found himself on the DL with a strained hamstring. Hamstrings tend to be a bit tricky, but again Martin was lucky it was just a strain. At this point the injuries seemed like the type of issues that happen from the everyday grind as a baseball player. No big deal.

Then the bombshell happened yesterday… Felix Hernandez was put on the DL for a calf strain. Considering the quality Hernandez has been bringing to the mound this season, it is a tough loss for the Mariners. You can’t just replace “the King” with James Paxton, as was quite apparent last night in Paxton’s eight runs against in just 3.2 innings of work. That was against the San Diego Padres.

The real problem for the Mariners is not the injuries. Injuries happen in a 162-game season. The problem is the replacements for when those injuries occur. Marte was replaced by Chris Taylor from Triple-A, who was then immediately sent back down after a two-error game that most likely cost the Mariners the victory. Luis Sardinas has now taken over.

Franklin Gutierrez has been getting more time on the field lately and has capitalized on it, hitting .375 with three home runs in his last seven games. If an injury occurs to another outfielder, though, the likely candidate to take over is Shawn O’Malley, who was recently called up because of his usefulness in many positions and not much else. Losing Marte, Martin and Hernandez only to bring in Paxton, Sardinas and O’Malley shows how badly the Mariners need some depth.

The Mariners are competitive for the first time in a long time entering June. Sure, a home sweep of the Mariners by the Oakland Athletics and the shellacking the Padres handed the Mariners last night won’t help, but they are still only a half a game back from the AL West lead, as well as a Wild Card spot. It’s time for Jerry Dipoto to become Trader Jerry and make the moves the team needs so badly. The depth of a club determines the level of success for almost every team. The Mariners should not ignore that.