BREAKING: Seattle Mariners Place Franchise Star on Injured List

The Seattle Mariners placed franchise star and starting center fielder Julio Rodriguez on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with an ankle sprain; Rodriguez suffered the injury on Sunday against the Houston Astros.
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez stands in the dugout after a loss against the Baltimore Orioles on July 3 at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez stands in the dugout after a loss against the Baltimore Orioles on July 3 at T-Mobile Park. / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners had hoped to avoid a worst-case scenario with franchise star Julio Rodriguez. The Mariners' starting center fielder sprained his ankle after colliding with a wall on Sunday against the Houston Astros going for a catch. He was listed as day-to-day after initial tests leaned towards positive.

On Tuesday, Seattle placed Rodriguez on the 10-day injured list. And he might be out for longer.

"Julio came in today and the doctor (thought) he's not responding as quickly as he hoped," Mariners manager Scott Servais said in a pregame interview Tuesday. "So Julio's going on the IL. He's going to be out, don't know how long it's going to be. (Could be) a quick turnaround in 10, 11 days — could be longer. We'll see what we hear in the next few days here. Certainly very disappointing news. ... There's some things that you cannot control."

Rodriguez going on the injured list is exactly what Seattle was hoping to avoid.

He was batting .375 in July with four home runs and eight RBIs. He was also also the shining example of durability for the Mariners and played the most games on the team before his injury (100).

His injury also just compounds the myriad of problems Seattle has had over the last couple days. JP Crawford was put on the 10-day injured list the same day as Rodriguez due to a hairline fracture in his pinky he suffered Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. Ty France was also officially designated for assignment on Tuesday and his days in the organization appear to be over.

It's been a gloomy past couple days for the Mariners. But with where they're at (tied with the Houston Astros in the American League West), they're going to have to find a way to scrape out wins without Rodriguez and Crawford if they have any hope of making the postseason.

"I think everyone felt the frustration (after Monday's loss)," Servais said. "From myself and the players. We talked to them after the game (Monday) night. So — wipe that one clean. ... We're going to make some more adjustments."

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

CRAWFORD EXITS GAME: Seattle Mariners starting shortstop JP Crawford exited the game after getting hit on the hand by a pitch from Los Angeles Angels starter Tyler Anderson. CLICK HERE

RODRIGUEZ EXITS GAME: Seattle Mariners franchise star Julio Rodriguez exited Sunday's game against the Houston Astros after colliding with the wall in left-center field on a Yordan Alvarez triple in the top of the sixth. CLICK HERE

MARINERS "GIFT" GAME TO ANGELS: The Los Angeles Angels downed the Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Monday behind a Jo Adell hit that brought in two runs in the ninth inning. CLICK HERE

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Teren Kowatsch

TEREN KOWATSCH