Julio Rodriguez Is Due for an MRI Exam after Suffering Right Quad Injuriy

Mariners youngster Julio Rodriguez had to leave this evening’s game against the Blue Jays during the first inning due to a quad injury, according to Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. As reported by Jude, Rodriguez felt something in his lower right quad during pregame warm-ups before exiting before taking his first at-bat in the bottom of the first. It remains uncertain as to the severity of Rodriguez’s issue; Manager Scott Servais advised reporters (including Jude) that Rodriguez will undergo an MRI exam later tonight while Rodriguez indicated post game that everything would be fine but declined further commenting further on any further comment beyond saying he “should be okay but declined further comment further”.
Recently, Rodriguez has had multiple scares when it comes to injuries – both during yesterday’s game against Toronto and on Thursday when jamming his thumb making a diving catch he jammed it against a wall and needed attention by team trainer. Given this history of bumps and bruises it would make sense for Mariners fans for Rodriguez not even take an at-bat before leaving early from starting lineup position!
At 23-years old, this 23rd-year phenom made waves upon entering MLB with his dominant rookie campaign that netted him an AL Rookie of the Year Award and massive contract extension back in 2022. Following that stellar debut year performance was another strong 2023 campaign where his start slow but eventually picked up steam towards midseason to garner him fourth-place voting for AL MVP behind Shohei Ohtani, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien – overall entering 2024 season sporting an outstanding slash line of.279/.338/.495. All told this young player made even more impressive considering his strong center field defense as well as basepath offense and impressive basepath record of 62 for-79 hits made his mark debut year performance stand out against heavy competition – both impressive feats being accomplished without breaking sweat during rookie campaigns!
2024 has not been kind to Rodriguez. While he started off slowly in 2024, his overall slash line remains near league average even through struggles. One year ago today, this youngster was hitting.251/.312/.416 with an outstanding 104 wRC+ mark. Even this performance would represent a marked improvement on what Rodriguez has produced thus far in his age-23 season. Through 89 games this season, Rodriguez is hitting only.247/.295/.355 with an unimpressive wRC+ score of 85 – 15 percentage points below league average! His strong baserunning (18 out of 20 steals!) and premium position defense have offset some of this decreased production on offense, but nonetheless this 23rd-year old has more often served as an average regular than an MVP candidate this year.
Now it appears likely that any attempt by Rodriguez to recreate his incredible second half from last season – when he hit an astounding.321/.366/.615 over his final 61 games – could be derailed if he needs to visit the IL. Such news would be devastating news for a Mariners club which holds onto only tenuously to their lead over Houston (by two games) in the AL West; Seattle have only managed five wins out of 16 over that span thanks to an offensive anemicness which hit just.190/.273/.310 for 72 wRC+ score which ranks better only than Miami (among all MLB clubs).
Loss of Rodriguez would only increase pressure for Seattle ahead of their trade deadline at the end of October. Multiple reports in recent weeks indicate that the club plans on taking proactive steps this summer to revamp their offense, with that need becoming even greater if Rodriguez were forced into any extended stint on the injured list. Should the Mariners need assistance at center field, players such as White Sox star Luis Robert Jr. and Marlins youngster Jazz Chisholm Jr. could become available this summer; though such players often carry steep prices tags.