It’s been a tough two days for Seattle first baseman Ji-Man Choi.
The Mariners designated Choi for assignment Thursday shortly after he underwent surgery to repair a broken right leg, which he suffered on a play in Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over San Diego in 10 innings.
The move came after Texas returned left-handed reliever Edgar Olmos to the Mariners when Major League Baseball voided the Rangers’ waiver claim after an examination revealed Olmos had a shoulder injury.
The voided waiver claim forced the Mariners to find an opening for Olmos on their 40-man roster. By designating Choi for assignment, the club now has 10 days to trade him, release him or send him through waivers.
The likely course is the Mariners will send Choi through waivers with a notice to other clubs that he is injured and unlikely to play for four-to-six months.
If Choi goes unclaimed, he could then be sent to the minors on an outright assignment — probably to Tacoma — to begin his recovery. The Mariners are responsible for his medical expenses even if they choose to release him.
Choi, 23, underwent surgery to repair a fractured fibula in his right leg and a torn deltoid ligament. He suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly after leaping to catch an errant throw from shortstop Tyler Smith.
The play came with two outs in the ninth inning and permitted the Padres to score the tying run on the play as Choi collapsed to the ground in pain. After an examination, he was carted from the field.
The Mariners rallied for a walk-off victory in 10 innings.
Choi is a native of South Korea who spent most of last season at Triple-A Tacoma, where he batted .283 with five homers and 30 RBI in 70 games. He also served a 50-game suspension for a drug violation.
Olmos, 24, was claimed Feb. 24 by Texas after being designated for assignment by the Mariners on Feb. 13 before arriving in spring camp. The shoulder injury surfaced wen Olmos underwent an exam by the Rangers.
Texas then sought to void the claim, which MLB approved.
The Mariners acquired Olmos in a Nov. 20 waiver claim from Miami. He was 3-3 with three saves and a 4.06 ERA last season in 51 games at Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans.
Venezuelan plans
The Mariners declined comment on a Venezuelan report saying they plan to close their academy in that country due to growing social and political unrest.
The report said academy officials are having difficulty obtaining sufficient food to feed players.
The Mariners are one of just five clubs that still operate franchises in the Venezuelan Summer League. The report quotes unidentified VSL officials saying they fear for the league’s survival.
Current Mariners who spent time at the club’s Venezuelan complex include pitchers Yoervis Medina, Erasmo Ramirez and Mayckol Guaipe.
Charity efforts
Third baseman Kyle Seager expressed gratitude to the public for its ongoing support to his efforts to raise funds to fight childhood cancer in a coordinated campaign with the Vs. Cancer Foundation.
The program seeks pledge amounts on www.seagervscancer.org that are tied to the number of hits that Seager gets in the upcoming season. He vowed to matched the financial commitment of the first 100 participants.
“It’s been going really well,” he said. “It’s day three and, last I checked, we were already just $4,000 away from the goal (of $30,000). It’s been exploding way faster than we could have hoped for.
“That’s just a testament to the fans that we have. Good people.”
Short hops
It’s no surprise, but the Angels confirmed plans to start right-hander Jered Weaver against the Mariners on April 6 in the season opener at Safeco Field. … Felix Hernandez, who will start the opener for the Mariners, is tentatively scheduled to throw one more session of live batting practice before making his spring debut.
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