KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez, a leading candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year award, was put on the 10-day injured list Friday because of a lower back strain.
The move came with Seattle holding the third and final wild-card spot, a half-game behind Tampa Bay and four games ahead of Baltimore. Outfielder Taylor Trammell was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
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Rodriguez left Thursday’s win at Oakland in the first inning after experiencing back tightness. The 21-year-old leads rookies in home runs (27), runs scored (81), and total bases (251), and is second in RBIs (73) and stolen bases (25). He was the only rookie to be chosen an All-Star this season.
Rodriguez was replaced in center field by Jarred Kelenic for Seattle's game at Kansas City. Third baseman J.P. Crawford took Rodriguez’s accustomed leadoff spot in the batting order.
“I was anticipating more of (Kelenic’s) reps would come on the corners, but with Julio out now, he’ll be playing in center field,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We’re going to let him run with it.”
Trammell has played 41 games for Seattle this year, batting .208 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. He was hitting .333 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 22 games for Tacoma.
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