Donovan (groin) sits out, but injury not expected to be long-term

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Brendan Donovan was out of the Mariners’ lineup on Saturday night at Angel Stadium while recovering from a minor right groin issue.

But Seattle’s new third baseman reported all positives when coming off the field after doing a pregame workout that primarily consisted of agility work.

Donovan underwent an MRI that came back clean, and his situation is day-to-day. He is not expected to be placed on the 10-day injured list, but the Mariners could conceivably hold him out for the remainder of the series, given that Sunday’s finale is a matinee and will feature a tight turnaround.

"It was a little painful, but I've kind of got to manage it,” said Donovan, who tweaked the area when attempting to leg out an infield single during the seventh inning of Friday’s 3-1 win.

Donovan suggested that the issue might be related to the sports hernia surgery that he underwent on Oct. 7 while still a member of the Cardinals.

“Sometimes with these surgeries, with the [groin] and your hips, you can get some things that just kind of snag,” Donovan said.

The bang-bang play began with Donovan chopping a 1-2 fastball from Reid Detmers up the middle and 100.3 mph off the bat. But Angels second baseman Oswald Peraza made a nice snag in the first blades of the outfield grass that sent Donovan off to the races.

As Peraza’s throw was coming in, Donovan lunged at the bag with his left leg, then landed awkwardly -- with enough force that his helmet came off, which he caught.

“I wanted that hit,” Donovan said. “I caught my helmet, though. That’s what I was fired up about.”

In Donovan’s stead, Leo Rivas was the Mariners’ starting third baseman and hit ninth. Rivas just finished a seven-game stint filling in for J.P. Crawford at shortstop while the veteran was on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.

But Crawford was activated on Thursday, and Rivas expectedly remained on the 26-man roster to fulfill precisely these types of roles as a bench bat when needed in a pinch. Second baseman Ryan Bliss was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma as the corresponding move for Crawford.