Slowly, the Mariners are starting to get healthy.
Left-hander James Paxton reported no problems Tuesday after throwing 28 pitches in a bullpen workout that, barring any day-after problems, should be the final step before he begins a minor-league rehab assignment.
Plans call for Paxton to throw roughly 60 pitches Friday for Double-A Arkansas against Frisco in Little Rock, Arkansas. If all goes well, Paxton should be activated and rejoin the Mariners for a May 31 start against Colorado at Safeco Field.
Paxton was 3-0 with a 1.43 ERA in six starts before a strained forearm muscle forced him to the disabled list after a May 2 start against the Los Angeles Angels.
Meanwhile, right fielder Mitch Haniger underwent an examination Tuesday in Seattle and is expected to join the Mariners prior to Wednesday’s game for a day or two of on-field evaluations in his recovery from a strained right oblique muscle. If all goes well, Haniger should start a minor-league rehab assignment by this weekend and could be ready to rejoin the club next week for its 11-game homestand.
Haniger was batting .342 with four homers and 16 RBI in 21 games before suffering the injury April 25 at Detroit.
Right-hander Felix Hernandez played catch at an extended distance Tuesday in his recovery from bursitis in his shoulder. He was 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in five starts prior to suffering the injury April 25 at Detroit.
Cano activated
The Mariners activated second baseman Robinson Cano from the disabled list prior to Tuesday’s game at Washington, and his return should provide a major boost to a slumping attack.
Cano aggravated a strained right quadriceps muscle in his last at-bat in a game against Philadelphia on May 10, ironically, by running hard to first base on an infield grounder. (His proclivity for throttling down on routine grounders has prompted criticism in the past.)
The injury caused Cano to miss 11 games. The Mariners went 3-8 in his absence, which brought them into Tuesday’s series opener against Washington at Nationals Park at 20-25 and occupying last place in the American League West Division.
“The hardest thing was just to sit down and watch the game,” he said. “It’s something for me that’s really hard. I didn’t want to go on the DL. I was willing to play with one leg, but they were like, ‘No, no. We don’t want it to get worse.’”
The Mariners scored fewer than three runs in seven of the 11 games Cano missed. Prior to his injury, they averaged 5.2 runs per game, which ranked second at the time among all American League clubs.
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