Mariners focused on the players’ health ahead of the playoffs

The Mariners lost to the Dodgers on Friday night, but the most important news involved Josh Naylor, who had to leave the game through injury.

The Seattle Mariners have dealt with more than their fair share of injuries this season. Highlights (or should that be lowlights) of this include three-fifths of the preferred rotation missing time at various points and Víctor Robles being out for the majority of the year.

With this in mind and with the second seed in the AL now secured, it made sense that the Mariners would take some precautions. This included the late scratch of Robles from Friday night’s home series opener versus the Los Angels Dodgers, with a minor shoulder issue.

A scare for the Mariners

This is one of the most talented Mariners rosters in franchise history, but iy will only matter so much if any of their main players get injured. A worrying reminder of this came on Friday night, when Josh Naylor was removed from the game following the third inning.

The sequence of events which led to Naylor leaving the action began with him stealing second base and displaying obvious signs of discomfort. The steal represented his 30th of the season and made him just the third first baseman in Major League history to hit 20 home runs and snag 30 bases in a season when playing at least two-thirds of their games at the position.

Naylor was subsequently thrown out at third, after attempting but failing to tag up on a fly ball by Eugenio Suárez. This prevented Cal Raleigh from scoring what had initially appeared to be the game-tying run, as the Mariners went on to lose 3-2 to the Dodgers.

Afterwards, people were understandably eager to know the extent of Naylor’s injury, especially with him previously causing some angst last month. Speaking to the media, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“Yes, just a little groin tightness. We were just wanting to be conservative with him and precautionary, so we were able to get him out.”

A healthy Josh Naylor is vital for the playoffs

Officially speaking Naylor is listed as day-to-day but, as per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, don’t expect him to play in either of the Mariners’ final two regular season games. It just isn’t worth the risk or even necessary, for a player who has been a revelation since arriving in Seattle a few days before the trade deadline.

The 28-year-old has achieved so much in just 54 games for the Mariners, highlighted by a .299/.341/.490 slash line and .831 OPS. He’s been particularly effective at the usually pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park, with a .360/.408/.607 slash line and 1.015 OPS.

Whether the Mariners are able to extend Naylor to a long-term contract extension remains to be seen. For now though, the most important thing is to have him healthy (and rested) for the playoffs, with him being a vital part of a potent M’s lineup.

While not compromising the Mariners’ wishes per se to be at optimal health come playoff time, Wilson is also aware of the need to keep the recent momentum going. Prior to the loss to the Dodgers, this was a team which had been on a tear in winning 17 of their previous 18 games.

This situation must also take into account that the Mariners will have five days off before Game 1 of their AL division series, so it’s about being healthy versus not getting rusty or out of sync. In fairness though, it’s a good ‘problem’ to have.

Wilson acknowledged the challenge of this situation. He said:

“We’re trying to figure out exactly how to balance that. A couple of guys tonight were able to get some rest and we’ll just keep looking at it as we go, (but) also still trying to play hard and keep our intensity at a good level too.”

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Mariners reinstate Logan Evans

On the subject of injuries, the Mariners announced on Saturday that Logan Evans has been reinstated from the 15-day Injured List after recovering from right elbow inflammation. In a corresponding move, righty Casey Legumina has been optioned to the ACL Mariners.

Prior to his injury, Evans had gone 6-5 in 15 starts for the Mariners in his first year of Major League action. He produced a 4.37 ERA, 5.12 FIP and 1.404 WHIP in 78.1 combined innings, to assist the team in overcoming their aforementioned injury issues with the starting rotation.

The 24-year-old made two rehab starts before rejoining the Mariners, allowing two hits, one walk and one earned run while also striking out two in 2.1 combined innings. He was selected by the M’s in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB draft.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

Do you agree with the approach that the Mariners are taking as the regular season winds down? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.