M’s notebook: Mixed news on injury front

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 24, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. — What do you want first, Seattle Mariners fans, the good news or the not-as-good news on the injury front?

Start with the positive: Right-hander Felix Hernandez played catch again Wednesday in his recovery from bursitis in his shoulder. He said he’s “feeling good” and on track for a bullpen workout Saturday in Boston.

The news regarding outfielder Mitch Haniger is more guarded and reins in some recent optimism in his recovery from a strained right oblique muscle.

Club officials had hoped Haniger would be ready this week to start a minor-league rehab assignment. That is now on hold, although he rejoined the traveling party Wednesday after undergoing an exam Tuesday in Seattle.

Haniger is now experiencing some tightness on his left side, possibly due to his effort to compensate for his injury in recent workouts.

“It’s definitely tight, too,” he confirmed. “We’re trying to figure out why this is happening and get healthy as fast as possible. It’s been frustrating. I’m just hoping that I’m not out too much longer and that nothing gets worse.”

Hernandez and Haniger each suffered their injuries April 25 in Detroit.

A normal progression for Hernandez, barring setbacks, would be a couple of bullpen workouts, a simulated outing or two against hitters, and then one or two rehab starts in the minors.

A best-case scenario points to a mid-June return. Hernandez was 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in five starts prior to his injury.

Haniger will be evaluated in on-field workouts over the next few days and appears unlikely to embark on a rehab assignment before next week. On Wednesday, he was limited to a few swings in the cage.

“Right now, it’s a day-by-day plan,” he said. “I’m not looking ahead for a week or two. I feel like I was looking ahead too far and tried to push it. I’m not doing that anymore.”

Once cleared, Haniger would likely require just three or four rehab games before returning to active duty. He was batting .342 with four homers and 16 RBI through 21 games when he suffered the injury.

M’s acquire outfielder Aplin from Houston

Add outfielder Andrew Aplin to the mix at Triple-A Tacoma, which seems to churn roster moves even faster than the Mariners.

Which is saying something.

The Mariners acquired Aplin, 26, on Wednesday from the Houston Astros in a trade for a player to be named later or cash considerations. He was assigned to the Rainiers’ roster.

“He’s another good athlete,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said, “with on-base skills, plus defense and above-average speed. He’s 26 and has a pair of options remaining.”

Houston designated Aplin for assignment Monday in order to clear space on its 40-man roster for pitcher Jordan Jankowski, whom it promoted from Triple-A Fresno.

The Mariners cleared space for Aplin on their 40-man roster by designating right-handed pitcher Chris Heston for assignment.

Heston, 29, gave up 12 runs and 14 hits over five innings in two big-league appearances but was 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA in six starts for Tacoma.

The Mariners have seven days to reach a resolution on Heston through a trade, a release or, if he clears waivers, by sending him to the minors on an outright assignment.

Aplin is a left-handed hitter who batted .250 with a .375 on-base percentage this season in 32 games at Fresno with one homer and 13 RBI.

The Astros selected Aplin in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and he posted a .271/.369/.384 slash (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) in 574 minor-league games over six seasons.

Aplin was picked an all-star in the Hi-A California League in 2013, and in the Double-A Texas League in 2014. He spent most of the last three seasons at Fresno.

Whalen summoned to replace Pagan

Emilio Pagan’s reward for four scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 10-1 loss to Washington was a return ticket Wednesday to Triple-A Tacoma.

The Mariners replaced Pagan by recalling right-hander Rob Whalen from the Rainiers in their latest move to keep fresh arms in a bullpen that must support an injury-depleted rotation.

It is the second such recall this season for Whalen, who spent one day — May 5 — in the majors before getting sent back to Tacoma without appearing in a game.

“He’ll be available out the bullpen the next couple of nights,” manager Scott Servais said. “He could start for us over the weekend. We need a starter on Saturday (in Boston).”

Whalen, 23, was 1-2 with a 6.57 ERA last season in five starts for Atlanta. The Mariners acquired him with pitcher Max Povse in a Nov. 28 trade for outfielder Alex Jackson and pitcher Tyler Pike.

Whalen began the season on the disabled list because of shoulder inflammation. He was activated April 27 and optioned to Tacoma, where he is 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA in four starts.

Pagan, 26, was recalled Monday from Tacoma, but his four innings Tuesday effectively rendered him unavailable for the next few days. It was also his second recall; Pagan spent four days in the big leagues earlier in the month.

“He really helped himself as far as raising himself on the depth chart,” Servais said. “The key for him, as we talked the last time he was here, is he’s got to get his secondary pitch over the plate.

“He had a really good slider (Tuesday) night. He executed it against a very good lineup.”