The Mariners announced that outfielder Julio Rodriguez has been activated from the seven-day concussion injured list. Utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni was designated for assignment in the corresponding move, which both opens up a 26-man roster spot for Rodriguez and leaves Seattle with 39 players on its 40-man roster.
It has been a little over two weeks since Rodriguez was placed on the IL, after he was hit in the helmet by a Nolan Schanuel throw on July 2. The All-Star break provided some extra time for J-Rod to recuperate, and he’ll now return to his usual spot in center field.
It’s been a streaky year for Rodriguez, whose .259/.323/.424 slash line over 378 plate appearances was generated by a red-hot May sandwiched between mediocre performances in April and June. A .350 xwOBA that’s above his .327 wOBA suggests that better days are ahead on offense, though Rodriguez’s center field defense has been uncharacteristically average.
Mastrobuoni began the season on the 60-day injured list due to a calf strain suffered while playing for Italy at the World Baseball Classic. Upon being activated from the 60-day IL, he has now played 13 games with Seattle while twice being designated for assignment. The previous DFA last month saw Mastrobuoni clear waivers and get outrighted to Triple-A, which now means that Mastrobuoni has the ability to reject any future outright assignments in favor of free agency.
Because Mastrobuoni is out of minor league options, he’ll likely face this DFA/waivers/outright dance several more times whether he stays with the Mariners or opts into free agency. Another team might be interested in the utilityman as versatile bench depth who can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond, though Mastrobuoni has hit only .228/.293/.271 over 477 career PA with the Rays, Cubs, and Mariners over his five MLB seasons.
