Get to Know Mariners Ace Robbie Ray and His Injury History

The Seattle Mariners made one of the biggest moves in recent team history by signing Robbie Ray to a 5 year, $115 million contract. Ray is coming off of a dominant season where he won the American League Cy Young award. The Mariners are incredibly fortunate to have him in the fold, but what sorts of injuries has he had in the past? Do Mariners fans need to be worried about his health going forward?

Robbie Ray has not had a tremendously long injury history, or anything majorly concerning, but he has missed chunks of seasons before with injuries. He has not had any major arm or shoulder injuries that cause great concern, but he has had some lesser injuries. Here is a list and analysis of his injury history.

Robbie Ray Injury History

April 12, 2021 – Toronto Blue Jays Activated Robbie Ray from 10-day Injured List.

April 1, 2021 – Toronto Blue Jays placed Robbie Ray on 10-day Injured List.

Robbie Ray had one of the classic silly injuries that many players have had in baseball. He hurt himself falling up the stairs. He did this while carrying his young son, so he should have a little slack for this one. He did miss the 10 days at the start of the season, but it clearly did not impact his 2021 season much. The Mariners should not be worried about this problem happening again.

August 25, 2019 – Arizona Diamondbacks activated LHP Robbie Ray from the 10-day injured list.

August 15, 2019 – Arizona Diamondbacks placed LHP Robbie Ray on the 10-day injured list. Right lower back spasm.

Back in 2019 with the D-Backs, Robbie Ray missed a mere 10 days with back spasms. That is nothing too concerning and is not a major issue at all. The only concern is that he could have back issues pop up again, but back spasms are nothing more than something that comes along with playing a 162 game season. He just was a little banged up at the time, but this should not concern Mariners fans.

June 27, 2018 – Arizona Diamondbacks activated LHP Robbie Ray from the 10-day injured list.

April 30, 2018 – Arizona Diamondbacks placed LHP Robbie Ray on the 10-day disabled list. Strained right oblique.

Now this is the most concerning injury of Robbie Ray’s career. He missed almost two months with this oblique strain, and the concern is that this could be something that might pop up again. The good sign is that he hasn’t had any issues with his oblique in the three years since. The problem comes because since it was his right oblique, it has to do a lot of movement and work when he lifts and moves his right leg in his delivery as a left-handed pitcher.

The Mariners do not need to concern themselves too much since he has seemingly not had to deal with a right oblique issue since 2018. Hopefully he keeps it this way and he should not be in danger of missing any time with this injury.

August 24, 2017 – Arizona Diamondbacks activated LHP Robbie Ray from the 10-day disabled list.

August 7, 2017 –Arizona Diamondbacks placed LHP Robbie Ray on the 10-day disabled list. Concussion.

July 29, 2017 – Arizona Diamondbacks placed LHP Robbie Ray on the 7-day disabled list. Concussion.

This concussion in 2017 that Robbie Ray had is a total outlier injury in baseball. He was hit in the head by a line drive. This is one of the scariest injuries that can ever happen in baseball, but it is not the type of thing that repeats itself. The Mariners should not worry too much about him missing nearly a month with this, but should be happy that he has recovered fully from this tragic injury.

Overall, newly minted Mariners starter Robbie Ray has missed time with injury in four of the last five seasons, but the Mariners do not need to worry about one body part that continually nags him. The only concerning injuries are to his oblique and back, but there is no evidence that he will continue to experience issues in those areas. Mariners fans should be thrilled with their new ace and leader of the pitching staff.