Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger out 6-8 weeks, could miss beginning of season with core injury
After missing more than half of the 2019 season trying to work his way back from injury, and suffering yet another setback Monday, Mitch Haniger is unlikely to be game ready by Opening Day.
Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto announced at a pre-spring training luncheon Thursday afternoon that his top outfielder will likely undergo abdominal core surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
That tentative timeline points to a return near the end of March — Seattle opens the season on March 26 — which would wipe out all of spring training for Haniger, and more than likely delay the beginning of his season.
“He’s attacking it very aggressively because he doesn’t want to miss any more time,” Dipoto said. “Mitch was in the midst of what I think was perhaps his best offseason — certainly since he’s been with the Mariners. … I was expecting him to show up the first day of spring training ready to go, but that does not appear to be the case.”
Haniger’s setback core injury is linked to the surgery he had last summer to repair a ruptured testicle. That original injury, sustained in June, ultimately ended his season. He played in three minor league games in August on rehab assignment, but dealt with continual lower back tightness, and never returned to the field for the Mariners.
He appeared in just 63 games for Seattle last season, slashing at .220/.314/.463 with 13 doubles, 15 homers and 32 RBI, and led the league with 81 strikeouts the day he was injured.
The Mariners were looking forward to a resurgence from the 29-year-old this season, and Haniger’s offseason program was on track until Monday, Dipoto said, when he aggravated his core while working out in the Bay Area.
“It’s disappointing,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I feel bad for Mitch. He was working his tail off and reports we had, and in talking with him, he was doing great. Strength was up. Really excited to get back on the field and get it going again.
“So, it is disappointing news. I do know Mitch well enough, he will do everything he can to get back as soon as he can.”
Dipoto noted the club does not “anticipate this being a season-long issue,” but with Haniger’s absence likely to last into April, Seattle’s outfield will obviously look different than expected when the season begins.
The only certainty in the outfield heading into spring training is that Mallex Smith, who primarily played center field for the Mariners last season, will retain his starting role, Dipoto said.
“Beyond that, it’s a wide open field,” Dipoto said.
The Mariners have reengaged in the player market as they look for a solution, Dipoto said, but don’t necessarily need to bring someone in to stabilize the outfield long term.
If Seattle doesn’t pick up a player from outside of the organization, Haniger’s injury creates the most opportunity for rookies like Kyle Lewis, Jake Fraley and Braden Bishop, who all debuted for Seattle last season and played limited roles.
Should Lewis continue to show progress after an impressive start in the big leagues last September, he certainly seems likely to start regularly in left or right field as the Mariners continue to build toward their future. In his short audition last fall, Lewis logged six home runs and 13 RBI in 75 plate appearances, slugging at .592.
“We want to see Kyle Lewis take the ball and run with it and expect that will happen,” Dipoto said.
Fraley and Bishop were both hampered by injuries last season — Fraley appeared in 12 games before he was shut down with a right thumb injury, and Bishop appeared in 27, but missed multiple months with a lacerated spleen — but could see an uptick in innings while Haniger is out.
“This probably creates more of an opportunity for Jake Fraley to make the Opening Day club in a regular role, rather than moving around in more of a time share, so to speak,” Dipoto said. “... It does a great deal for the prospects of Jake Fraley, of Braden Bishop, certainly for Kyle Lewis. They were already pretty high.”
Though, even as younger players get more substantial opportunity while Haniger recovers, don’t expect that to result in a faster timeline to the majors for coveted outfield prospects like Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic.
“I think what was already going to be healthy looks at our young, high-end prospects are going to be healthier, although I wouldn’t anticipate that it would result in either starting the season with the club,” Dipoto said.
Could either of those players change his mind with a breakout performance at spring training?
“Sure, in a very Ken Griffey Jr., 1989 sort of way,” Dipoto said. “I wouldn’t anticipate that, because we are dealing with in Julio’s case very limited experience above (Low-A) ball in West Virginia, and in Jarred’s case just 92 plate appearances above the Cal League.
“So, I don’t want to do anything that will harm their progress. We think a lot of both players. We want to do the right thing for their development.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger out 6-8 weeks, could miss beginning of season with core injury."
