SEATTLE -- Julio Rodríguez was out of the Mariners’ lineup in their first game back from the All-Star break on Friday and remained on the 7-day concussion injured list.
But he did say in passing that he’s “trending” in the right direction, after which he went through a full pregame workout that included agility drills with Seattle’s athletic training staff, his on-field throwing program and swings off the Trajekt machine.
Basically, because Rodríguez has been sidelined for two full weeks, the Mariners wanted to see him clear each of those benchmarks in a more up-close environment before activating him -- which could happen as soon as Saturday.
“Super encouraged,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “Obviously, you don't want to mess around with head injuries, and they all sort of come in different forms and feel differently for different guys over a period of time. I do think it's been a noticeable trend up for Julio over the course of the week.”
Elsewhere on the injury front, Brendan Donovan (left groin muscle) transitioned his rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday night, and Rob Refsnyder (right knee inflammation) will join him with the Rainiers to begin his rehab assignment on Saturday.
Among recovering relievers, Hollander said that Matt Brash (right lat strain) has begun a throwing program and is targeting a mid-to-late August return. Cooper Criswell (right shoulder strain) is about a week behind Brash with his timeline, while Carlos Vargas (right lat strain) has made strides to the point that he could throw a bullpen on Tuesday then be cleared for a rehab assignment.
Rodríguez, obviously, is the closest to returning -- and was in good spirits as Seattle embarked on the second half. Per team policy for players on the concussion IL, Rodríguez was not available for a formal interview.
“There's not been a setback or anything,” Hollander said. “We need to check every box before he gets out here and plays a Major League game. It's been a couple weeks, and he hasn't done a lot of the things that you need to do in terms of full pregame, full activation, all that stuff.
“So we'll see where he is after today. I'm hopeful that he'll be ready to go tomorrow, but I don't know that, and we'll just see how he feels after the full pregame today.”
Rodríguez has been sidelined since exiting a July 2 game against the Angels shortly after taking a throw off the back of his helmet on a double-play attempt while running the bases. He was placed on the concussion IL one day later.
As for Donovan, he was the Rainiers’ DH on Friday night but will soon move around defensively -- to left and right field, second base and third base. Tacoma is at home through the weekend then goes to Reno for a week. Donovan could remain with the Rainiers on the road or transition to High-A Everett to stay closer to Seattle.
For these reasons, that his second stint on the IL has eclipsed two full months and that Donovan has played in just 25 games this season, the Mariners anticipate this assignment lasting at least 10 days.
“We're going to be responsible when he comes back,” Hollander said. “He's probably not going to play six or eight games right out of the chute, all in a row. He's going to have some DH days. He's going to have an off-day.”
Donovan began his rehab assignment on Wednesday with the club’s affiliate in the Arizona Complex League, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk as the DH. He suggested earlier this month that he hoped to begin the rehab assignment the week of July 6, though Hollander said there was no setback.
“Part of rehab and going through that process is you feel good some days and you feel less good other days,” Hollander said. “And so we needed to make sure that when he went out, he was fully ready to go and we were on an upward trend, and not in sort of a back and forth.”