Seattle Mariners: Player Movement News

With Michael Saunders being placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday night due to an injured right shoulder, the Mariners have recalled designated hitter/first baseman Jesus Montero from Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday.

Before the injury Seattle had been going with an extra outfielder for the past two weeks. Even with Saunders being sidelined, they still have five outfielders in Dustin Ackley, James Jones, Cole Gillespie, Stefen Romero and Endy Chavez.

Montero was hitting .270 with 15 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 40 RBIs in 59 games with Tacoma, with a .465 slugging percentage and .800 OPS so hopefully he continues his hot streak in the majors replacing Saunders on the 25-man active roster.

Also reported by MLB.com’s Adam Lewis, the Mariners placed first baseman Justin Smoak on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left quad. Seattle has recalled outfielder Logan Morrison from Triple-A Tacoma.

Morrison played in Wednesday’s loss to the Yankees.

Smoak’s DL stint is retroactive to June 10, which means he’ll be eligible to return on June 25th.

According to Lewis, on Tuesday Smoak took batting practice and did some light running drills, though manager Lloyd McClendon expressed disappointment with the way he was progressing physically, saying Smoak was only  “70 to 75 percent.”

Smoak did tell McClendon that he can take batting practice and field normally, but running appears to be the issue. In hope to return to the Mariners lineup as soon as possible he has a ways to progress before he is brought back.

Morrison who is replacing Smoak, got off to a slow start to 2014, only recording  just three hits in 20 at-bats before going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring in mid-April.

Though he did suffer a minor setback while rehabbing, Morrison eventually recovered and played 18 games with the Rainiers, hitting .308 (20-for-65) with two doubles, three home runs and 13 runs. McClendon says,”I guess he swung OK. To be honest with you, I don’t care about Tacoma. “I’m worried about what he does here. We’ll see.”