Mariners' latest IL stint shows how baseball will break your heart

Patrick Wisdom was leading the minor leagues in home runs when the Mariners called him up from Tacoma last week. Our hope was that he would get a real chance to show what he can do, but he ended up getting just one at-bat before finding his way to the injured list.

The Mariners made the move on Friday, though it's retroactive to Wednesday, April 15. Wisdom has a left oblique strain, an injury which unfortunately could keep him on the shelf for a while.

Obliques are kind of important for hitters, after all, and they're not exactly fast-healing injuries. Using data from FanGraphs, a total of 76 players went on the IL with an oblique strain throughout the 2025 season. On average, they missed 35 days before returning to action.

The Mariners know from their experience with Luke Raley that the wait for Wisdom could be longer. He strained an oblique in late April last year and didn't return until 53 days later on June 20.

This is a blow to whatever grand plans Patrick Wisdom had for an MLB comeback

Wisdom joined the Mariners back in January not so much in search of his big break, but another shot. The 34-year-old had been a reliable 20-homer slugger for the Cubs in the first half of 2020s, before going to Korea for the 2025 season after falling off the MLB radar in 2024.

Wisdom ended up having the best year of his pro career with the KBO's Kia Tigers. He got into 119 games and slammed 35 home runs, trailing only fellow former big leaguers Lewin Díaz and Matt Davidson for the league lead.

That slugging mojo was very much on display once Wisdom reported to Tacoma. In just his first 15 games with the Rainiers, he racked up nine home runs. That's still tied for the overall minor league lead with Dodgers prospect James Tibbs III — who's been on a heck of a heater in his own right.

Wisdom got the call to the Mariners knowing that he only had so much time to make an impression. He was meant to fill the shoes of fellow righty masher Rob Refsnyder while he was on paternity leave, and even one hit would have put Wisdom ahead of Refsnyder in that category.

Unfortunately for Wisdom, the tables fully turned on Sunday. While he was in his third day on the IL, Refsnyder notched several Mariners firsts with a leadoff homer to pace a 5-2 win over the Rangers that clinched a series victory. Given his track record, it seems likely that hit will be what gets him going and ultimately cements him as the Mariners' resident crusher of lefties.

All Wisdom can do now is focus on getting healthy, and just hope that another shot eventually comes his way.

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