Mariners Get Exciting News on Two Separate Injured Players
The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers on Father's Day Sunday to earn a sweep of their division rivals, but they also received great news on the injury front with regards to both second baseman Jorge Polanco and relief pitcher Gregory Santos.
First, with Polanco: We knew that he made his rehab debut with Single-A Everett on Saturday night, and he took it a step further on Sunday.
Playing with the Aquasox, Polanco went 0-for-1 at the plate with two walks. Battling back from a hamstring injury, Polanco was healthy to run the bases twice after those walks. He also played three full innings of defense for Everett after only playing as the designated hitter on Saturday.
His next step is likely to play somewhere between 7.0-9 innings in the field and then to be able to recover well the next day. While we don't like to speculate on the team's roster moves with regards to injuries, it would seem plausible that Polanco is back with the Mariners by the middle or later part of the week.
A lifetime .265 hitter and a former All-Star, Polanco is hitting just .195 this season with five homers and 14 RBI. He's posted a .293 on-base percentage, which is below his career norm of .332 as well. The M's would love for him to get hot upon his return.
While Santos is not as far along as Polanco, the news is very good on him too. Having missed all season with a lat issue, Santos threw a rigorous bullpen session on Saturday.
Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times:
Gregory Santos threw a 30-pitch up-and-down bullpen yesterday, clearing one notable hurdle in his rehab. Scott Servais went out to watch part of it. “I’m really excited,” Servais said.
Gregory Santos threw a 30-pitch up-and-down bullpen yesterday, clearing one notable hurdle in his rehab. Scott Servais went out to watch part of it. “I’m really excited,” Servais said.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) June 16, 2024
Thirty pitches is likely more than Santos will throw in any game with the M's this year, but it's still good for him to test his arm and to see how he recovers from the up-and-down nature of the bullpen. He'll need several rehab outings and should hopefully be an option for the bullpen sometime in July.
He served as the Chicago White Sox' closer at the end of 2023 and was traded to the Mariners this past offseason. He was injured in spring training.
The Mariners are off on Monday but will play the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night at 3:40 p.m. PT.
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