The Mariners have designs on contention this season, but a glance at the current standings shows they're in last place in the AL West and already 6 1/2 games behind the Astros. So that's not good news for the M's. Here's some more bad news as of Wednesday ...
Mariners put Felix Hernandez on 10-day DL with shoulder inflammation, Haniger on 10-day with oblique strain.
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) April 26, 2017
As for the potential timeline, it's well beyond the minimum 10 days ...
Felix Hernandez expected to miss "at least" two to three weeks with right shoulder inflammation, source says. #Mariners @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 26, 2017
Felix Hernandez is of course Seattle's tenured ace. Through five starts this season, he has struggled in terms of run prevention; however, his robust K/BB ratio of 7.33 certainly augured better days ahead. Hernandez is 31, which is old, but it's typically not a "deep decline" age for pitchers. That said, Hernandez showed less durability last season than he has in the past (he worked at least 200 innings in eight straight seasons), and he also showed some skills decline. Even before this shoulder injury -- shoulder injuries are always worrisome things for pitchers -- you would be justified in doubting we would ever see peak Felix again.
There's also Mitch Haniger, who has played plus defense in right this season while putting up an outstanding line of .338/.442/.600 and leading the AL in runs scored. Acquired from the Diamondbacks as part of the Taijuan Walker-Jean Segura trade, Haniger had been one of the few pleasant surprises in Seattle this year. Oblique strains, of course, can be slow to heal.
More broadly, general manager Jerry Dipoto has an old roster and a weak farm system. Given the slow start to the year, a sell-off leading up to the non-waiver deadline is becoming more of a possibility. These two key injuries, it seems, could nudge him farther in that direction.
