Mariners lose the game and Sam Haggerty in Tigers opener

The Mariners have been celebrating a ton since securing the first playoff berth in over two decades, and rightfully so. Sure, the Mariners have the record for the longest drought in major sports history, but at least it isn’t active anymore. Even Julio Rodriguez is back. However, it’s not all good news as the team has lost Sam Haggerty to a groin injury, and it doesn’t look good.

What makes it even worse is when it happened in the game. Bottom 9, two outs, sliding into second on a successful stolen base attempt, his 13th of the season. His leg buckled as he slid in, and he had to be helped off of the field. His SB put them in a great spot with a runner on second and a chance to tie the game, but they were unable to drive in his replacement and would lose 4-3.

Sam Haggerty is out, and likely out for the season

I haven’t seen anything definitive yet, but reports have come out so far that it is a groin injury, and Haggerty will be going in for an MRI on it to see the extent of the damage. As a speed guy, you hate seeing any type of leg injury befall a player like Sam Haggerty. Without healthy legs, it takes away the prime part of his game, and really hampers the Mariners in their ability to deploy him as a defensive substitution or a threat on the basepaths late in the game.

The fact that he had to be helped off the field and was on crutches after the game worries me. I’m not a doctor (obviously), and I haven’t seen anything come out yet on this Tuesday morning. I don’t think he is going to be back this year, but I would love to be proven wrong.

Julio Rodriguez did come back off the IL though, so the news isn’t terrible. He looked healthy and ready to go like he hadn’t missed a beat. He went 3-4 with a double, which was his 25th of the season. That puts him into a pretty rare club of 21-year-olds that have put up a line of 25 2B-25 HR-25 SB in a season, which is incredibly impressive. He’s up to .284 on the season with a 5.9 WAR and has put together one of the best rookie seasons we have seen in a while.

The Mariners have their work cut out for them Tuesday. Not because they “need” to win or anything like that, but because they are playing a doubleheader and need to both manage their arms and their health in order to be set up well for the playoffs. They are pretty much locked into the 5 spot but could fall to 6th if they lose out.