Julio Rodriguez is on the doorstep of a return, and the Seattle Mariners may not have to wait long to get him back in the lineup.
Rodriguez was not in the order for Friday’s opener of the second half against the San Francisco Giants, but he did go through a full pregame workout before the game at T-Mobile Park. If he clears that final hurdle without symptoms during or after the session, the Mariners could activate him for the second game of the series.
The three-time All-Star has been on the seven-day concussion injured list since July 3, when he was struck in the head by a throw from first base while trying to take second. He also missed Seattle’s final road trip of the first half, a pair of three-game series losses to the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.
"(Rodriguez) will take some swings in the cages off the traject," Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said in a pregame interview Friday. "If that goes well, we'll see where he is tomorrow in terms of ready for activation (off the IL) or if he needs more time. ... We just need to check every box before he comes out here and plays in a major league game."
Rodriguez has played 87 games this season and is hitting .259/.323/.424 with a .747 OPS. He has 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Seattle opened the second half Friday night against San Francisco, starting a three-game series at 7:10 p.m. PT. The Mariners came in at 48-49, one game behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.
Injuries have been a major part of Seattle’s first-half story, and the club got more updates on the pitching side as well.
Right-handed relievers Cooper Criswell, Matt Brash and Carlos Vargas are all expected back within the next month to month-and-a-half, according to Hollander. Brash is in a throwing assignment and is projected to return around mid-to-late August.
Criswell’s timeline is late August to early September. Vargas is viewed as the closest of the three, with a bullpen session scheduled for July 21 and a return target in mid-August.
"I would say (between) Brash, Criswell and (Vargas), Vargas is probably the closest," Hollander said.
There was also movement with a pair of position players in the system. Rob Refsnyder, who is dealing with knee inflammation, will start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Brendan Donovan will serve as the designated hitter for Tacoma on Friday, with off days built into his rehab work and time planned at multiple spots on the field. He started that assignment Wednesday as a DH for the Arizona Complex League Mariners. Hollander said the rehab process "needs to be what it needs to be" because Donovan has been out for two months, though he added that a 10-day rehab assignment is tentatively in play.
And at Tacoma, infielder Leo Rivas, who had been on the injured list since June 17 with vertigo-like symptoms, was activated on Friday after trending upward.
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