Prospect Julio Rodriguez fractures left wrist

July 17th, 2020

SEATTLE -- Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez, the No. 18 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, has a hairline fracture in his left wrist after diving for a ball during a postgame drill at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old is part of Seattle’s 60-player pool and while he wasn’t expected to make the 30-man Opening Day roster, the Mariners were hoping to get him some valuable experience both in Summer Camp and the ensuing workouts for the final two months with extra players in Tacoma, Wash.

Rodriguez got his first intrasquad hit earlier Wednesday with a double off the center-field wall off Kendall Graveman in the three-inning scrimmage, but he then was injured when the Mariners did some extra work after the game.

"We were doing a baserunning drill, just reading balls off the bat, but we put a defense out there," manager Scott Servais said. "It’s a drill we’ve done many, many times. A soft liner was hit into right field and Julio came in and instead of just pulling up and playing it on a hop, he decided to dive for the ball and jammed his wrist into the ground."

X-rays showed the hairline fracture and Rodriguez was scheduled for more tests on Thursday.

"I feel horrible for Julio," Servais said. "A young player in a drill, he’s going all out and that’s what we expect of our guys. It’s unfortunate that happened. I feel really, really bad for him. He had a great day leading into that. He banged a ball off the wall against Graveman. You hate to see that happen to anybody, but certainly with a young player it’s really important for him to get some at-bats and experience. But he’ll be on hold for a while."

The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder missed two months early last season with Class A West Virginia when he suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand after being hit by a pitch. He returned to play 84 games with West Virginia and Class A Advanced Modesto, posting a .326/.390/.540 line with 12 homers and 69 RBIs.

Rodriguez is the Mariners’ No. 2 ranked prospect and one of a large group of youngsters in Summer Camp as they look to build for the future.

Gordon also sidelined
was a late scratch from Wednesday’s intrasquad game, but Servais wasn’t able to say why the veteran infielder couldn’t play or what his status was going forward. Gordon was slated to play left field in the contest, his first outfield time this spring as he’s primarily played second base and shortstop.

"I really can’t comment on the Dee Gordon issue at this point," Servais said. "That’s just where it’s at. I’ll leave it at that and see what today brings."

Short takes from T-Mobile Park
• The Mariners will have their only off-day of Summer Camp on Friday. They then will have afternoon workouts and 6:10 p.m. PT intrasquad games from Saturday through Wednesday before flying to Houston on Thursday.

• The intrasquad game Saturday will be streamed live on the Mariners’ YouTube channel. There will be no streaming on Sunday, but the Monday and Tuesday games will be carried live on 710 ESPN Seattle radio, as well as streamed on the Mariners’ YouTube channel. The intrasquad finale Wednesday is slated to be broadcast on both 710 ESPN Seattle and ROOT TV at 6:10 p.m.

and both threw well Thursday in their second intrasquad starts. Sheffield allowed three hits and one run in three innings while striking out four. Dunn threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Both are likely to get one more scrimmage outing before their first regular-season starts.

• Like many clubs, the Mariners are shy on outfielders while trying to field two intrasquad teams every day for three weeks. So Mariners director of Major League operations Jack Mosimann filled in in left field for one team Thursday and gave a full-out leaping attempt at a ball hit by for a triple in the third inning. After playing only in the field for six innings, Mosimann was given an at-bat in the final frame and struck out on three pitches, the final a 94 mph fastball from .