Seattle Mariners Reportedly Make Major Revelation on Plans For Julio Rodriguez

According to a report in 'The Seattle Times,' the Seattle Mariners are looking to get Julio Rodriguez back sooner from his ankle injury. In order to do that, they're reportedly looking at utilizing him as a designated hitter.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) catches a fly ball hit by Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (not pictured) during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park on July 20. / John Froschauer-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners are reportedly looking to use superstar Julio Rodriguez as a designated hitter as a way to get him back faster from a high-ankle sprain that has kept him out since just past the All-Star break.

Rodriguez has been testing his ankle in the cage and reportedly feels no pain there, but he's only just recently started to do running exercises and doesn't appear to be that comfortable yet.

'The Seattle Times' ran a great story on Wednesday with more information about the plan:

Rodriguez wasn’t cautious or careful in those rounds. He took aggressive swings. He also ran the bases in between his rounds.

While it seems obvious that Rodriguez still isn’t ready to return to center field, sources indicate the Mariners are hoping to activate Rodriguez from the injured list in the coming days and use him as the designated hitter to add some more punch to their lineup.

While Julio Rodriguez isn’t ready to return to the field, sources indicate the Mariners are hoping to use their star as a designated hitter. https://t.co/LxberNraF9

— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) August 8, 2024

There's several schools of thought here and you can make a case for any of them, frankly.

1) Rodriguez is this team's best player and they need him in any form: That's likely true. Rodriguez was an All-Star in each of his first two seasons in the big leagues and even though he's regressed this year, he still offers them a bat they so desperately need, despite hitting only .253. He could lengthen the lineup and push guys like Jorge Polanco down in the order to provide some thump down there.

2) This is the time to push it. When banged up, athletes always use some form of "if it were the playoffs, I'd be out there." Well, this is esentially the playoffs. At 59-56, the Mariners have just 47 games to go. They are currently 0.5 games back in the playoff race. If you aren't going to push it now, when are you ever going to push it?

3) Will this help? A fair question. Given that Rodriguez has slumped at the plate so much this year, so much of his value has been in his ability to play center field and steal bases. If he can't play center and can't really steal because of the ankle restrictions, is he that valuable of a player right now? Is it worth further injury to get him out there when he's not able to do what he does best?

These are all the things that the Mariners will have to wrestle with in the coming days.

Seattle takes on the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.

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