SEATTLE -- Julio Rodríguez reported to T-Mobile Park on Friday still feeling the effects from the hard throw that he absorbed directly off the back of his helmet the night prior.
And the Mariners made the swift move to place the star center fielder on the 7-day concussion injured list before their ALCS rematch with the Blue Jays.
“With head injuries, you have to be so careful,” manager Dan Wilson said ahead of the Mariners' 2-0 loss to Toronto. “And so I think giving him the extra time and precaution is definitely the way to go at this point.”
Rodríguez will be down for at least one full week, per the concussion IL minimum.
How much baseball activity he’ll go through while sidelined will be based on how he feels. The earliest that Rodríguez is eligible to return is next Friday, when the Mariners open their final series of the first half at Tropicana Field.
“He could probably do what he is feeling up to, and get to that point,” Wilson said. “I think it's just a matter of what he's going to be able to handle. Today is a day for him to kind of stay down and not do too much. And then I think that, hopefully as he can handle things, we can start to ramp back up.”
Rodríguez was forced to exit during the third inning of Thursday’s 1-0 win over the Angels after taking a 78.2 mph throw off the back of his helmet on a double-play attempt while running the bases.
He went first-to-third on a Dominic Canzone grounder to Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who attempted to ignite a 3-6-1 double play. But Schanuel’s throw hit Rodríguez’s helmet and bounced into the outfield, allowing Rodríguez to race into third.
Standing on the bag, the Mariners’ center fielder was fired up, clapping his hands together emphatically. But he quickly fell into a crouch, at which point Wilson and head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson came out for an extended visit.
“As he kind of said last night when he got over there, I think when the adrenaline of the moment kind of ran out, he kind of felt lightheaded at the time,” Wilson said. “And he just wasn't feeling himself. He kind of came in today and didn't feel himself again.”
In corresponding moves, infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni was selected from Triple-A Tacoma, and to make room for him on the 40-man roster, reliever Cooper Criswell was transferred to the 60-day IL.
One positive for the banged-up Mariners on Friday was that Victor Robles was back in the lineup after taking a 97.9 mph fastball off his right wrist/forearm that forced him to exit just two innings after coming in as Rodríguez’s replacement.
Robles was Seattle’s starting center fielder on Friday and will likely remain there for a bulk of the next week, though Luke Raley could see action there as well.
Speaking of Raley, he just returned after missing three games with a left forearm issue that he’s pushing to play through. The same goes for Dominic Canzone, who’s been dealing with a right hamstring issue but has grinded through it.
In that context, before Rodríguez exited Thursday’s game, the Mariners were nearing full strength. But now, they’ll be without one of their key contributors for at least another week.