CHICAGO -- The top of the Mariners’ lineup is starting to look like itself again.
Seattle announced prior to Friday’s opener against the White Sox in Chicago that Brendan Donovan (left groin muscle strain) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. As a corresponding move, catcher Jhonny Pereda was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Donovan was immediately slotted into the leadoff spot against the White Sox at Rate Field for his return. And right behind him? Cal Raleigh, behind the dish for the first time since he missed three games from Saturday to Monday.
Manager Dan Wilson said Raleigh hasn’t felt the soreness in his right side since his return on Tuesday and has been able to swing without any issues.
Donovan, on the other hand, needed just one game at Double-A Arkansas before getting into Major League action for the first time since April 17. It’s a welcome addition for the Mariners, as Donovan was hitting .304 with three homers and eight RBIs in 18 games prior to his injury.
The third baseman was in the field Friday night as he works back from the groin injury that he says is related to the sports hernia surgery he underwent on Oct. 7 while still with the Cardinals.
“I’m still learning a lot about recovery and things I can do to keep my hips healthy after my surgery,” Donovan said.
“I think workload is one of those things, and pelvic positioning is another thing. That’s something that we have to attack in the weight room and in the training room every day.”
Donovan mentioned that it can take anywhere from eight months to a year for every single hiccup from his surgery to fully dissipate. He returned to baseball activity in six weeks like he was told this offseason, but Donovan has to remain aware of the strain he’s putting on his pelvic muscles -- both in his batting stance and when diving for a ball or towards a base. Donovan says that he feels fine now, but his work is a little different at the start.
On Friday, for example, Donovan said he was done with his pregame work after fielding and hitting by 3 p.m. -- nearly 3 1/2 hours prior to first pitch.
“It’s understanding when to ramp up and cool down, and that could change, but especially now, just coming off the IL,” Donovan said.
“Athletes are kind of naturally tilted a little bit, so when I had everything on the front kind of sewed back down, they kind of just sewed everything back to my pelvis, and it tilted even more. So how can I get my pelvis to sit a little bit more neutral? That’s kind of what I’m learning about this whole process.”
It’s something he worked on with his stance when hitting off the Trajekt machine while on the injured list to stay on time. It was important that he was able to get into the positions he needed to swing correctly before he returned.
“In my swing, I’m very pelvic driven, so there are positions I feel like I need to get into,” Donovan said. “When it was bugging me, I feel like I was having to try to force it, and I just wasn't able to hold those positions. … Whenever you start to compensate, and you think that it could affect your performance, and then your performance could affect the team, that’s when you have to start to think about other options.
“And I think that’s why I ultimately went on the IL, is I felt like I was starting to compensate.”
The final hurdle was running at full speed, which Donovan said is no longer an issue.
The Mariners will be careful with both Donovan and Raleigh as they ramp back up this series, but the duo is desperately needed to aid a struggling offense. Seattle entered Friday tied for last (White Sox) in the American League with a .229 batting average. Only the Rangers (139) and Blue Jays (147) have scored fewer runs than the Mariners (153) in the AL.
The Mariners are hoping Donovan’s presence and Raleigh’s return to normalcy can change that.