CINCINNATI — In the end, the Mariners opted Sunday not to play short-handed for even a few days while shortstop Ketel Marte recovers from a sprained left thumb.
The Mariners placed Marte on the 15-day disabled list and replaced him by recalling shortstop Chris Taylor from Triple-A Tacoma.
“Everything indicates that it shouldn’t be any longer than 15 days,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s not as bad as we originally thought. He’s certainly playing at a very high level, and we love having him in our lineup.
“But every team has to deal with this stuff. You plan for these things by having guys who can come up and fill a role. We feel we have adequate guys to step in.”
The Mariners chose to recall Taylor instead of Luis Sardinas, who was optioned to Tacoma on May 14 in order to get regular playing time after getting just 27 plate appearances in 12 big-league games.
Taylor departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a red-eye flight Saturday night and was in uniform — but not in the starting lineup — for Sunday’s series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Utilityman Shawn O’Malley started at shortstop, but Taylor is expected to be in the lineup for Monday’s game against Oakland at Safeco Field.
Marte suffered the injury when he jammed his thumb on a slide while stealing second base in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 4-0 victory over the Reds. He is batting .276 and tracking at a plus-12 rating for the season in defensive runs saved.
Taylor, 25, arrives after batting .294 with a .374 on-base percentage in 39 games for the Rainiers. That followed a poor spring in which he lost out to Sardinas in the competition to be the club’s utility infielder.
“I worked on some things with Bro — Scott Brosius, our hitting coach (at Tacoma),” Taylor said. “One slight mechanical adjustment, and everything just kind of clicked form there.
“I have a move with my back elbow that I make that was causing me to be late (on pitches). I just moved the elbow; started with it up a little bit higher.”
Taylor attributed his poor spring to an effort to implement changes in his swing while competing for a job.
“I expected to be able to come in and for it to be able to work right away,” he said. “It doesn’t always work like that. I was fighting some of my old moves. That made it even more difficult. It’s something you have to go through.
“That’s actually what spring training is for, but the situation I was in — I was competing (for a roster spot). There was pressure on me to play well. That’s all part of it. I had to go through that to get to where I am now.
“Right now, I feel good. So I think it was for the best.”
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