Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodriguez Details How His Injured Ankle is Doing After Return
The Seattle Mariners got beaten soundly on Tuesday night, losing 15-1 to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
It was an important loss for Seattle, who dropped to 63-57 on the season. They are now 1.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West and 2.0 games back of the Kansas City Royals in the American League wild card race. Seattle has 42 games left to play.
While just about everything in the game was disappointing, one good thing did happen: Julio Rodriguez picked up his first hit since coming off the injured list on Sunday. Rodriguez, who suffered a high-ankle sprain on July 21, went 1-for-3 with a double to the gap off Tigers' ace Tarik Skubal.
Julio Rodríguez rockets a 108.7 mph double off Tarik Skubal into the right-center gap for his first hit since being activated from the IL.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) August 13, 2024
And he coasts into second base, not putting much stress on his right ankle. pic.twitter.com/HmdtfxZ6f9
Speaking with reporters, Rodriguez detailed his mindset right now and where he's at physically. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com put out a great story on his comments on Tuesday night.
“I'm playing, but I'm still kind of rehabbing a little bit,” Rodríguez said. “But that's something that I don't take it as it's going to stop me from contributing to the team and helping the team win. And that's something that I was kind of considering before, if I felt like I was able to contribute to the team or not, and I feel like right now I can.”
Rodriguez said that swinging the bat is not the problem, it's more cutting and changing direction. Because of that, he isn't ready to play the outfield again yet. You could tell he wasn't 100 percent in the above clip, as he didn't push to get to second base on the double.
The Mariners are absolutely taking a risk by putting a player out there isn't 100 percent healthy, but as the team chases its first division crown since 2001, the upside is enormous. Rodriguez is one of the most talented players in all of baseball and having him out there gives the team's offense another added layer.
The Mariners will play the Tigers on Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. PT.
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