Stuck in third place in the American League West, the Seattle Mariners, like many teams, are getting bit by the injury bug. But the M's have been bitten since the start of the season.
Before opening day, Mariner's all-star Ichiro Suzuki was placed on the 15-day disabled list and the injuries have been mounting up since.
Today outfielder Endy Chavez was placed on the 15-day disabled list but will not play for the rest of the season and might not be able to come back until the middle of next year.
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After colliding with Yuneski Betancourt in Friday night's game, Chavez was left with a torn ACL in his right knee. Chavez was batting .273 with two home runs, 13 RBI's, 17 runs scored and nine stolen bases.
"There's quite a bit of damage," Mariner's manager Don Wakamatsu said. "Without making a mistake on the diagnosis, there's a couple different tears. It's a bad one."
Mariners doctor, Ed Khalfayan said it could take Chavez nine months to a year to be completely healthy.
With Chavez out for the year, left field is Wladimir Balentien's position to lose.
Balentien, hitting 50 points less than Chavez at .233, hit his second home run of the season in Saturday night's ball game. Balentien will need to produce more base hits if Seattle is going to compete in the AL West.
Currently Seattle is three and half games behind the Texas Rangers so it could be there's for the taking.
Reach Josh Stilts at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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