Mariners call up Leonys Martin to replace injured Haniger

SEATTLE, WA - JULY 8: Mitch Haniger
SEATTLE, WA - JULY 8: Mitch Haniger /
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Saturday, in one of the scarier moments of the 2017 season, Mets’ starter Jacob deGrom drilled Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger with a 95-mph fastball directly to the face in the mouth area (video below). Haniger departed the game and was taken to a Seattle hospital where they diagnosed him with a mouth contusion.

The prognosis, currently, is plastic surgery to fix the cuts on his face, as well as some serious dental work with a few teeth getting jarred loose. As much as we’d love to focus on this and make sure one of our own is okay, the Mariners are in the thick of a wild card race, and they have to place Haniger on the DL for the time being. That opens up an outfielder spot, and who better to fill it than the fan-favorite Leonys Martin.

Martin began this season with Seattle after having a successful campaign in 2016. His numbers from last season just did not carry over though, and after 15 games was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent to Tacoma where he has put up very solid numbers.

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With the big league club, he hit just .111 with an abysmal OPS of .302. In 84 games of AAA ball this year, Martin is hitting .312 with 11 homers and an OPS of .858. Now who knows if numbers somewhat like this will continue when he returns to big league pitching, but it certainly is encouraging that after a little time down, he has put some parts of his game back together.

As mentioned earlier, he is a joy in the clubhouse, and though Mariners twitter was certainly quieted about Haniger’s situation, they seemed excited to hear Martin would be the consequent call-up.

Below is video of the Haniger at-bat, watch at your own risk.

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If Martin has found his swing, and can produce for the Mariners, he will be a big addition to the squad as they continue to push for a wild card spot. Here’s to Martin continuing his hot hitting at the big league level.