Julio Rodriguez will not make the trip to Florida with the Seattle Mariners as he continues to deal with symptoms from a concussion, leaving the club without its star center fielder for most of the final stretch before the All-Star Break.
Rodriguez is still on the seven-day concussion injured list after taking a throw off the helmet in Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. He is eligible to be activated on July 3, and the earliest he could return to game action is July 10, when Seattle opens against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Rodriguez is moving in the right direction, but the team wants to see how he responds day to day before making any decisions.
"The plan is to see how he is tomorrow," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Sunday. "Not traveling with the team tonight but see how he is tomorrow and then kind of make an assessment from there.
He does seem to be progressing each day. Each day's gotten a little bit better.
Today a little bit more activity, So it's just a matter of what he can handle from day-to-day. But encouraging signs today for sure."
Seattle is in the final week of the first half and has seven games left before the All-Star Break. The stretch starts with Sunday’s rubber match against the Toronto Blue Jays at 2:00 p.m.
PT at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners will then have Monday off before heading out for a six-game road trip that includes three games against the Miami Marlins and three against the Tampa Bay Rays.
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.
There were also a couple of lineup and pitching notes for Sunday’s finale against Toronto. Designated hitter/outfielder Dominic Canzone is getting the day off as he continues to manage soreness in his left hamstring, and Seattle is aiming to give him two full days of rest with Monday’s off-day. Cal Raleigh will serve as the DH, while Mitch Garver will catch.
The Mariners are also still sorting out the rotation for the final six games before the break. The club had initially planned to use a piggyback setup Saturday with Logan Gilbert starting and Emerson Hancock following out of the bullpen, with Hancock then expected to handle one more outing on the road trip. Instead, Gilbert worked a "true" start Saturday and Hancock is set to start Sunday, leaving Seattle with a six-man rotation for the six-game trip.
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