Mariners send Félix Hernández, Mitch Haniger, hope, to the DL, call up extra hair & height

After yesterday’s loss (can a loss be Pyrrhic? It felt Pyrrhic) the Mariners had several moves to make. Mitch Haniger has a strained oblique that could sideline him for up to a month or more. Félix Hernández has a “dead arm” that has been updated to “right shoulder inflammation” which is just delightful. Both have been placed on the 10-day DL. In a dance they began a few weeks ago, Evan Marshall waved to Casey Fien, who he replaced just a couple weeks ago, as they passed one another on I-5. Simultaneously, Dillon Overton gave an Oklahoma shake of his flowing mane as Chris Heston gazed somberly out at the Kent skyline while his and Marshall’s bus headed south.

Beyond swapping relievers, Chase De Jong, fresh off four shutout innings in Oakland this weekend, will take The King’s spot in the rotation. His first start will be this Sunday at Cleveland. The hole in the rotation looks like it will be there for a while, and it will be up to De Jong, Overton, Heston, and possibly Cody Martin or others to fill it.

Ben Gamel will take over for Haniger, and is starting tonight in right field.

Gamel is the only player we haven’t seen so far this year, although he got some play in 2016. He’s hit well in 74 PAs in Tacoma so far this year, posting a .288/.419/.390 line with a 128 wRC+. His 16.2% BB% is particularly impressive, and is backed up somewhat by his also solid 10.5% clip he walked at last year in 57 PAs at the MLB level last year. If Gamel can lower the unsavory 28.1% K% he had last year, the 24 year-old could be a serviceable player. His above-average defense and decent speed are assets. In a vacuum, seeing Gamel at the MLB-level, much like De Jong, would be an interesting look at potentially useful MLB players.

The problem, of course, is who they are replacing. It’s easy to say the season feels over right now, and far be it from me to tell you anything is particularly cheery. My favorite player of the last decade and my favorite player of the last five months are both sitting on the DL, potentially for an extended period of time. It sucks and makes it less exciting to watch the Mariners play baseball, but play baseball they will. Hopefully their replacements can surprise us. We’ll be waiting for updates from folks in long white coats until then.

Get better soon Mitch. Get better soon Félix.

Go M’s.