SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are about to test the depth of their rotation after placing right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma on the 15-day disabled list just prior to Friday’s series opener against Minnesota.
Iwakuma informed club officials after his start last Monday that his shoulder felt “fatigued.” He then began taking anti-inflammatories in hopes of alleviating the problem prior to his scheduled Friday bullpen workout.
When Iwakuma reported the same symptoms in that workout, the Mariners moved quickly by placing him in the disabled list for what they characterized as a strained right latissimus dorsi muscle in his back.
The Mariners then recalled reliever Lucas Luetge from Triple-A Tacoma. Luetge arrived in time for Friday’s game against the Twins at Safeco Field.
“We thought it was best to back (Iwakuma) off,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said, “and put him on the DL to give him time.
“It’s a long season, and we certainly don’t want this thing to be an aggravated issue as we go through the next 51/2 months. At this point, we’re hoping that it’s nothing more than just shoulder fatigue.”
The Mariners backdated Iwakuma’s time on the disabled list to Tuesday, which makes him eligible to return on May 6.
Luetge’s promotion could be brief because the Mariners are also expected to recall lefty Roenis Elias from Tacoma prior to Sunday to fill Iwakuma’s next scheduled slot in the rotation.
Zduriencik declined to confirm Elias as Iwakuma’s replacement in the rotation but acknowledged “the obvious is the obvious.”
Elias is 2-0 in three starts for the Rainiers despite an 8.04 earned-run average but was 10-12 with a 3.85 ERA last season in 29 big-league starts. He was slotted to pitch Saturday at Sacramento.
Iwakuma departed Safeco Field prior to the game in order to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam.
“At this point in time,” Zduriencik said, “based on what he’s saying, it sounds like some of the things he’s had in the past, where he just needed to back off.”
Iwakuma was an All-Star in 2013 and won 15 games last year, but he struggled this season in three starts — going 0-1 while allowing 13 runs and 20 hits in 161/3 innings.
“I actually feel pretty good on the mound,” he said last Monday after giving up four runs in 51/3 innings against Houston. “Even today, I felt like my stuff was working. It’s just some of the pitches that were up in the zone.”
Manager Lloyd McClendon was less convinced, saying: “He has not been sharp. The ball was up again tonight. We’ve got to figure out a way to get him down in the zone. (His) fastball command just has not been good.”
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