SEATTLE — Outfielder Mitch Haniger, barring a setback, should return Saturday from the disabled list. Sunday at the latest. But whenever he returns, this much is clear.
Haniger will reclaim his job as the Seattle Mariners’ full-time right fielder.
“We’re not going to mess with that too much,” manager Scott Servais confirmed prior to Friday’s series opener against Toronto at Safeco Field. That’s the plan, understanding that he’s still going to need a day off here and there.”
That means Jarrod Dyson, Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia will shift into a three-for-two rotation mode.
“Dyson has been phenomenal defensively,” Servais said. “Offensively, some nights better than others. The two young guys, Gamel and Heredia, have been more consistent offensively.
“Looking at matchups, it’s a good rotation to have. I feel comfortable playing those guys. You can play all four of them in center field, if you had to. It’s a good spot to be in.”
Haniger, 26, was batting .342 with four homers and 16 RBI through 21 games when he suffered a strained right oblique muscle on April 25 in Detroit. He began a minor-league rehab assignment Tuesday at Triple-A Tacoma.
Plans called for Haniger to play all nine innings Friday in right field for the Rainiers as the final test in his rehab process. He spent two of his three previous games as the designated hitter.
“We’ll see how he comes out of (Friday’s) game,” Servais said, “before we make a final decision.”
The Mariners recalled Gamel from Tacoma in response to Haniger’s injury. Gamel recently became the club’s primary leadoff hitter when shortstop Jean Segura landed the disabled list because of a high right ankle sprain.
“His on-base percentage against right-handed pitchers is close to .420,” Servais said. “That’s a phenomenal number for a young player, and he’s hung in there OK against the lefties. He’s been very consistent.”
“The one thing about Ben’s game is he’s a very good situational hitter. You’ve seen multiple times when he gets a sacrifice fly or moves guys over.”
Gamel has been the right fielder in Haniger’s absence but will now likely share time in left field with Heredia. When Dyson plays, he figures to be the center fielder. Heredia will split time with Gamel in left and Dyson in center.
Gearing up for a northern invasion
It’s Canada Weekend at Safeco Field, and the Mariners aren’t kidding themselves. They’re bracing for the reality of being guests in their own home as the Toronto Blue Jay make their only visit of the season.
“It’s something you have to deal with,” manager Scott Servais said. “We’re close to the border. It’s a chance for the people in western Canada to see their Blue Jays … I understand they raised the ticket prices.”
Indeed.
The Mariners’ primary response to the anticipated weekend flood of Blue Jays fans, while undeniably practical, only exacerbates the situation.
Dynamic pricing shifts ticket prices in accordance with demand. There’s a lot of demand this weekend, and the upward spike is significant. While that may deter some Blue Jays fans, it’s likely to have a greater effect on Mariners fans.
When the Blue Jays visited last September, it produced the three biggest crowds at Safeco in the season’s final month — and remember: the Mariners were in a postseason chase at the time.
“When we stood up for the national anthem,” Servais recalled, “they played, ‘O, Canada,’ and I turned to (bench coach) Tim Bogar and said, ‘Oh, (shoot)! There’s a lot of people here, and they ain’t rooting for us.’
“It’s just the reality of it. It will be a lively weekend again. They have a good club, and they’re at full strength now. It looks like all of their players are back who were out when we played them last time.”
Last time didn’t go well.
The Mariners had just clawed their way to .500 after a poor start when they reached the Rogers Centre on May 11 for a four-game series. They then scored six runs in losing all four games, which started them on a 4-12 skid.
This time, the Mariners are 30-31 after a 9-2 run since pulling out of that tailspin.
Looking back
It was 38 years ago Friday — June 9, 1979 — that the Mariners held a “Willie Horton Night” to honor the slugger three days after he became the 43rd player in history to reach 300 career home runs.
Horton marked the occasion by going 3-for-5 against Cleveland in front of a Kingdome crowd of 40,314. He even hit a triple. But the Mariners suffered a 4-3 loss in 10 innings.
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