PEORIA, Ariz. – Eddie Guardado, whose health may go a long way in determining the strength of the Seattle Mariners’ relief pitching, is down again.
The good news is that it’s not his left shoulder.
The bad news is that it’s an injury that could stop him for a while.
“Hamstring,” Guardado said, sitting alone in the Mariners’ spring training clubhouse Thursday while the rest of the team practiced. “It happened while I was running sprints this morning. I’ve never had this before.”
Guardado, the Mariners’ closer, had been running when he felt a twinge in the back of his right leg.
The Mariners say it’s a mild strain of the hamstring and Guardado will be re-examined today. Guardado, who was supposed to pitch today against the Colorado Rockies, believes he’ll be out a week. Others weren’t willing to develop a timetable, especially with an injury that can be nagging.
“It’s one of those injuries you don’t want to re-aggravate, so I’m sure there will be some caution in his recovery,” pitching coach Bryan Price said.
If the injury is severe, it could delay Guardado’s work at spring training and jeopardize his chances of being ready for opening day April 4.
“That doesn’t benefit any of us, especially Eddie as he tries to get ready for the season. But that’s life,” Price said. “But there’s nobody saying yet that he won’t be healthy to pitch opening day.”
In his down time, Guardado hopes to play catch to maintain his arm strength and the throwing mechanics that he struggled with early in spring training. He won’t be able to pitch full-force off a mound until the hamstring, which is on his planting leg, recovers.
“I can play catch,” he said. “I need to do that.”
The Mariners need more than that from Guardado.
If he can’t begin the season, it not only would cost the Mariners their closer, it would shuffle other relievers into other roles. J.J. Putz and Shigetoshi Hasegawa are the most likely candidates to close if Guardado can’t.
The strained hamstring is the latest in a series of injuries that have limited Guardado since he became a Mariner before the 2004 season.
A strained left knee slowed him during spring training last year. He recovered from that and recorded 18 saves during the regular season before he went on the disabled list Aug. 1 because of shoulder fatigue. He later was diagnosed with a tear in the rotator cuff but decided to rehabilitate it over the winter instead of undergoing surgery that would keep him out at least a year. He also had arthroscopic surgery on the left knee Aug. 23
Guardado reported to spring training healthy, but the Mariners monitored his work carefully. He was held out of his first scheduled exhibition appearance last week when the team feared that problems with his throwing mechanics would put too much strain on the shoulder.
With those issues settled, Guardado pitched one scoreless inning in a B game Monday against the San Diego Padres, needing just seven pitches to retire the three batters he faced.
The Mariners pronounced him ready to pitch in regular exhibition games, and his debut would have been today against the Rockies.
His morning run Thursday eliminated not only that, but the immediate future of their closer.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
