SEATTLE -- For Wade LeBlanc and Kyle Seager, there is light at the end of the tunnel in their injury rehab progress, as both Mariners expect to be back playing before the end of May.
Seager had no issues with his surgically repaired left hand after taking batting practice for the first time on Tuesday, and he was back at it prior to Wednesday’s game against the Cubs, taking grounders and hitting with the rest of the team.
The 31-year-old third baseman is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on May 25 and expects to be ready by that day “without question,” as he feels well ahead of schedule.
Seager will remain in Seattle to continue working when the team departs Thursday for a 10-day road trip, then he will likely begin a Minor League rehab assignment for the final seven to 10 days of his IL stint to get his timing down in game action.
LeBlanc, sidelined by a Grade 2 oblique strain in his right side since mid-April, figures to be back sooner, as he’s already eligible to come off the 10-day IL. The 34-year-old southpaw threw 15 pitches off the bullpen mound for the first time on Wednesday without any issues, a significant step forward.
LeBlanc will ramp that pitch count up in bullpen throwing sessions on Friday and Monday, then potentially be ready to begin a Minor League rehab stint later next week if all continues to go well.
Manager Scott Servais has said LeBlanc likely will need only one or two rehab outings, so a best-case scenario would have him rejoining the Mariners in two to three weeks.
“Everything feels better and better every day, so we’ll just keep moving forward,” said LeBlanc, who was bolstered by the fact he felt no issues, even with the greater stress of throwing off the mound.
Seager also had a hop in his step after finally being cleared for full baseball activities after being sidelined since early March, when he twisted his glove hand diving for a ball down the third-base line during a Cactus League game. He underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon behind his middle finger.
Seager has hit batting practice pitching, including taking throws from new instructor and Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki on Wednesday, without any problems.
“I’m not in any pain,” Seager said. “Everything feels pretty good. I’m ready to roll.”
Seager will test the hand against higher-velocity pitches off the hitting machines in coming days, then face live pitching when he eventually reports to Triple-A Tacoma.
“He looked really good,” Servais said. “I know he was happy with it and I was, too. He’s swinging easy, not really thinking about his hand at all, the ball is coming off his bat really well. First day out there, the coaches are only flipping it in there 50-55 mph, but he looked pretty good.”
Seager’s eventual return will create a roster crunch as first baseman Ryon Healy moved to third in his absence, while Seattle already has Edwin Encarnacion, Daniel Vogelbach and Jay Bruce splitting time at first base and designated hitter. That issue still has a few weeks to play out, but the clock is now ticking.