By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners barely hanging on as Julio Rodriguez adds to injury woes

The Mariners’ injury situation has officially reached farcical levels, as Julio Rodriguez leaves Wednesday’s game early with hamstring issue.

A segment of the Mariners fanbase has long wondered if their team is just cursed, after 50 years of mostly bad fortune. To the point that even when things are seemingly set up for success it still ultimately goes wrong, with the 2001 116-win season standing out as the main example. Well, the events of the 2026 campaign up to this point sure seem to be adding credence to the idea this franchise is jinxed.

It was of course bad enough that the Mariners lost 5-3 on Wednesday at home to the Orioles, as Kyle Bradish dominated with a career-high 12 strikeouts. The M’s are barely hanging on at the top of the AL West with a 38-37 record, with just five wins in their past 13 games. However, barely hanging on is the theme of the moment in another way, for a team which has now officially reached farcical levels with the amount of injury issues they’ve encountered.

The latest such instance came prior to the seventh inning on Wednesday, when Julio Rodríguez was removed from the game due to what was described as hamstring spasms. The issue was caused after running and leaping to make a catch in the left-center field gap in the top of the sixth. Speaking to the media postgame, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“A little bit of a spasm in his hamstring. We thought it best to get him out with what we’ve got going on right now in terms of injuries. We thought it was smart to get him out of there and give it a little bit of a rest.”

When even a day-to-day injury fills M’s fans with trepidation

Yes, what the Mariners have got going on right now in terms of injuries – talk about an understatement. Josh Naylor and Luke Raley were already out of Wednesday’s lineup due to right wrist inflammation and back tightness respectively. As was announced with Rodríguez by Wilson, both are listed as day-to-day, but fans could be forgiven for fearing worse is possible.

Randy Arozarena was initially also listed as day-to-day after suffering left hamstring soreness last Friday in Washington. However, then came the news on Tuesday less than an hour before first pitch of the series opener versus the Orioles, that he was headed to the 10-day Injured List. An MRI on his hamstring that morning had revealed more inflammation than expected.

On top of this, it was confirmed that reliever trio Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell are now not expected to return from their respective injury issues until around the trade deadline on Aug. 3. And let’s not forget Brendan Donovan has been on the Injured List for a second stint since mid-May, with an ongoing left groin strain. It’s fair to say that any positive vibes about getting Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford back, has been severely compromised.

Just to really ram home the point about the farcical levels of injuries in Seattle this year, Bryce Miller and Gabe Speier were also absent for spells, while even Colt Emerson missed three games earlier this month with back spasms. At this point we absolutely won’t mock any Mariners fans who claim the franchise is cursed. And of course this barrage of injuries happens in a year when the roster is as good as it’s been at any time during the Jerry Dipoto era in Seattle, with plenty of baseball media experts predicting them to represent the American League in the World Series.

The runway is still clear for the Mariners to take off and soar to the AL pennant

Perhaps the only way the Mariners are having good luck, is that the American League is not looking particularly strong this season. In fact the M’s somehow have the second-best run differential behind the Yankees, despite only being 38-37. By extension, the AL West specifically is arguably the weakest division in the majors full stop.

However, this only matters so much, if the Mariners can’t get their act together soon. As much as they’ve repeatedly proven to be a second-half team in recent years, they need to get healthy to help facilitate this to the maximum. For his part, Wilson is being his usual objective and calm self, as he said:

“Injuries are just part of the season. It happens. It happens to every team, happens with all teams. It seems to have happened kind of simultaneously here with us, with a lot of different guys. But that’s just the way the game is sometimes, and we’re battling through it.”

To their credit, the Mariners continue to fight and the underlying numbers are there of what this team is made of, as per the aforementioned run differential. In addition, they’re third in the American League with a 105 wRC+ and second with a 3.65 ERA. If this team can find a way to get over the overload of injuries — surely it can’t go on indefinitely?!?! — they have the quality to fulfil the preseason predictions as favorites to play in the World Series.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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