MLB PLAYER NEWS

Seattle 3B Seager could miss April, May

Field Level Media

March 14, 2019 at 7:52 pm.

Sep 25, 2018; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) hits an RBI-single against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning at Safeco Field. Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 25, 2018; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) hits an RBI-single against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning at Safeco Field. Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners could be without third baseman Kyle Seager until early June after the eight-year veteran had hand surgery, general manager Jerry Dipoto revealed.

Seager, 31, had surgery Tuesday in Phoenix and recovery time is expected to be eight to 10 weeks. Dipoto confirmed, however, that Seager won’t even be able to swing a bat for eight weeks, meaning that his return could be in the range of 10 to 12 weeks.

Seager, a Gold Glove Award winner in 2014, batted a career-low .221 last season with 22 home runs and 78 RBI. It was his lowest home run total since 2013, the year before he made his lone All-Star Game appearance.

“This will be the first time for me, going on the DL, and that was something I was proud of,” Seager said. “It (stinks). Any time you can’t go out there with your teammates and friends, it’s tough.”

The surgery was to repair a tendon in his left hand that he injured Friday night while diving for a ball down the line during a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

For now, the Mariners’ plan at third base appears to be to move first baseman Ryon Healy there. They could use utility player Dylan Moore at third, but the 26-year-old has no major league experience.

Seager has a career .258 career batting average over 1,155 games. He has 175 home runs with 603 RBIs and finished 12th in the American League MVP voting in 2016 when he had career highs in home runs (30) and RBIs (99).

–Field Level Media