Seattle Mariners rookie Colt Emerson has been dealing with a left wrist injury since spring training.
The team only learned how bad it was this week, when the 21-year-old was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday, Aug. 13.
The Mariners reversed the transaction one day later. Instead of sending him to the minors, Emerson will head to the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation.
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In six weeks prior to being optioned, Emerson was slashing .157/.185/.196, making him the worst offensive player in MLB during that stretch.
Now, he’s en route to see a specialist for his injury in Arizona, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com.
Kramer spoke with Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who believes the pain caused the injury was limiting Emerson’s ability on the field. Widely projected as a potential American League Rookie of the Year, Emerson wound up playing his way out of a job.
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According to Kramer, Emerson only alerted Dipoto to the greater severity of his injury after Emerson was told he was being optioned to Triple-A.
It’s rare, though not unheard of, for a team to reverse a transaction like the Mariners did with Emerson. In the context of what’s happening in Seattle — both with Emerson and his team — the sequence of events raises questions.
The Mariners have been arguably the most disappointing team in baseball this year. After reaching the American League Championship Series a year ago, Seattle is 57-65 through Aug. 13, with only a weak American League West and Wild Card race keeping their postseason hopes alive into August.
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Emerson’s future to the team was never worth jeopardizing over an injury that might have been remedied if he had gone on the injured list sooner. The $95 million contract extension Emerson signed in March signaled his importance to the organization. So did the Mariners’ decision to move veteran shortstop J.P. Crawford to third base to accommodate Emerson’s arrival.
Now, the Mariners are looking at a lost season — and a very real question about how it might have gone differently if Emerson had spoken up sooner.
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