SEATTLE -- The Mariners returned their star catcher and the longest-tenured shortstop in franchise history ahead of Tuesday’s homestand-opener against the Orioles. And yet, general manager Justin Hollander couldn’t get all the way through a full answer without acknowledging the downsides.
“That’s very exciting that we get two guys back,” he said. “This has been really, really trying for the whole group the last 10, 12 days.
“I was hoping today that we would be a full boat. We’re not.”
Even as he said those words, Hollander didn’t realize just how true they were.
He was referring to Seattle’s slugging duo of Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor, both of whom picked up injuries over the Mariners’ last road trip and both of whom are considered day to day -- Arozarena with a left hamstring strain and Naylor with right wrist soreness.
But an MRI didn’t come back entirely clear for Arozarena, and Luke Raley came in dealing with back tightness. Combined with Naylor’s issue, it was just too much to carry at once, and two hours later, Hollander had to host another pregame scrum, with Arozarena going to the 10-day IL.
“Every opinion from our medical people on how Randy was testing out indicated that he was very likely trending in the right direction and was a real possibility to be available tomorrow,” Hollander said. “The MRI cast a little doubt on that. We don’t anticipate a stay on the IL longer than the minimum, but we can’t play three people short for any length of time.”
In a corresponding move, the Mariners called up Curtis Washington Jr. straight from High-A Everett -- entirely because the AquaSox were at home and he could make the drive south to T-Mobile Park by first pitch, whereas Triple-A Tacoma is in Salt Lake City.
Arozarena exited the Mariners’ 10-2 win over the Nationals on Friday in the third inning after legging out a ground ball, and was out for the latter two games of the series in D.C. Those were the first two games he’d missed all season, after 71 straight starts to open the year.
Victor Robles started Tuesday’s game in left field -- his first start there since 2024 -- in Arozarena’s place, with Dominic Canzone starting in right for the fifth time this season.
Even if it’s a short stay on the IL for Arozarena, it’ll still be a week for the Mariners to work without one of their top hitters. Arozarena has put together a strong campaign to make his third career All-Star Game, posting a club-best 2.3 fWAR, .291 average and 18 doubles while also slugging seven homers and driving in 33 runs.
“I’ve really never seen anything quite like this on the position-player side,” Hollander said. “I’ve been part of this in the 2018-19 window with pitchers, but this is very unique with this many position players. Every day feels like a bit of a juggling act.”
And the rough news doesn’t end there on the injury front for Seattle. Relievers Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell, both of whom landed on the 15-day IL last Tuesday, are both set to be out long-term, according to Hollander.
Brash, who is on the IL for the second time this year, is dealing with another strain in his right lat, though Hollander clarified that it’s in a different spot from the one that caused him to miss 18 games in early May. It’s also worse, and he’s going to need to go three to four weeks at the club’s facility in Arizona before they take another MRI. Add on time to ramp back up and go on a rehab assignment, and Hollander said the best guess is that the right-hander would hopefully be back around the Trade Deadline.
Criswell, whose right pec strain “kind of came out of nowhere” is on a similar timeline -- as is fellow reliever Carlos Vargas, who has been on the IL since Opening Day and just began a throwing program.
The one bright spot for Seattle -- aside from Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford’s return -- came from Brendan Donovan, who is set to begin a running progression during this current homestand. It’s set to last 10-14 days, and, if all goes well, could end with the 29-year-old ready for a rehab assignment right away. He’ll go through pregame hitting and fielding drills as well, but all of that is secondary to the running.
“The most important thing for him is the running progression,” Hollander said. “[It’s] low concern that he’s not going to come through the hitting and ground balls and throwing across the diamond part of it. It’s more the running progression. That’ll start this week with straight-line, linear running, and move into baserunning and things next week.”