Seattle Mariners: 3 takeaways from series versus Chicago White Sox

2) Losing James Paxton a bitter pill to swallow

It was all set up for James Paxton to make a triumphant return to Seattle. Already fondly thought of, the fans had even more reason to embrace him after he admitted he turned down better offers to re-sign with the Mariners.

The signs seemed promising during spring training, albeit in only two starts, with Paxton looking close to his old form. And things began well enough on Tuesday night in his first start of the season, as he had a quick 1-2-3 first inning on just nine pitches, which included two strikeouts.

However, those who were concerned with the health of the 32-year-old then had their worst fears come true. Shortly after allowing a walk at the top of the second inning, he was forced to leave the game due to a left forearm strain.

Right away, thoughts went back to last year, when Paxton missed most of the season with a flexor tendon strain. He did tell the media after the game that there was less pain this time around, although this didn’t lessen the frustration for him:

“I feel like for me, it’s kind of been one thing after another. And I work really hard and do everything that I can to be out there, and I’ll continue to do so…hopefully I can catch a break and stay healthy for a good chunk of time in the future.”

Talking of his future, the 2010 fourth round draft pick has been placed on the 10-day injured list. At the time of writing he is still being evaluated by the medical staff, so there is no timeline for his return at this stage.

In Paxton’s absence, Nick Margevicius will now be expected to step in and start. You could argue he was unfortunate to lose out to Justin Dunn for a spot in the rotation, so at least now he gets the chance to prove himself.

Last season, Margevicius was decent enough, as he showed some improvement from his previous year with the San Diego Padres. In particular, his ERA improved from 6.79 to 4.57.

Of course, the Mariners will be hoping Margevicius improves on his performance when he replaced Paxton on Tuesday night. He gave up a three-run homer in the second inning before mostly settling down, ultimately allowing four hits, a walk and four earned runs in 3.2 innings of action.

Paxton wasn’t the only one to suffer an injury on Tuesday night, as Jake Fraley joined him on the 10-day IL with a strained left hamstring. Fraley deserved a better fate, after suffering the injury due to making an excellent diving catch in the fifth inning.

The loss of the outfielder is a tough one, despite him only having one hit in 10 at bats so far this season. He had drawn two walks in the opening game against Chicago, to tie him for the lead in the Majors at eight overall.

As with Paxton, it is unclear at this stage how long Fraley will be out. However, the nature of the 25-year-old’s injury likely means at least a couple of weeks on the sidelines.

As a result of the two injuries, the Mariners recalled pitcher Ljay Newsome and outfielder Braden Bishop. Newsome will be placed in the bullpen although he can start if necessary, while Bishop has yet to show much with his bat but is a decent defender.

Just for good measures on the injury front, Evan White had to leave Wednesday afternoon’s series finale in the third inning with left quad tightness. No further information was available at the time of writing.

NEXT: MARINERS AGAIN SHOW THEIR MENTAL FORTITUDE