Mariners’ Robbie Ray Placed on 15-Day IL With Left Flexor Strain
We’re only a few days into the 2023 campaign, and yet, starting pitchers are already dropping like flies throughout the major leagues.
First, it was Atlanta’s Max Fried, who landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain, and now the Seattle Mariners will be without left-hander Robbie Ray for an extended period as he recovers from a left flexor strain.
Ray, entering the second season of his five-year, $115-million contract, was placed on the 15-day IL prior to Saturday’s contest versus the Cleveland Guardians. The team recalled fellow lefty Gabe Speier from triple-A Tacoma as a corresponding move.
Seattle made it through all last season without losing a starting pitcher to the injury bug, a streak that now ends during the early stages of the 2023 campaign.
Coming off a strong spring training, Ray struggled to command the strike zone in his season debut Friday, surrendering five walks – tying his season-high from 2022 – along with four hits and five runs (three earned) across just 3.1 innings. His fastball velocity was also an issue, as it tailed off significantly after the first inning, falling into the low 90s.
The 31-year-old said he felt great while warming up in Seattle’s bullpen pre-game and didn’t experience any discomfort during his first inning of action. In the second inning, however, things took a turn for the worse.
“It felt a little tight, but that didn’t seem out of the ordinary,” Ray said ahead of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Cleveland. “It’s just one of those things where it was a cold night, and I just thought maybe it took me a while to get loose there in the second. I didn’t really think that much about it. But then after that, my arm started to tighten up a good amount.”
Ray informed the team’s medical staff of his arm soreness before heading home Friday night and woke up Saturday morning still in pain, necessitating an MRI. But the results weren’t promising, as they revealed a Grade 1 strain.
Chris Flexen, who made 22 starts and 11 relief appearances in 2022, will serve as Ray’s injury replacement in the short term. The 28-year-old was stretched out as a starter this spring to act as a break-in-case-of-emergence option, which will see him square off against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels next Wednesday.
For the most part, Ray has remained relatively healthy throughout his 10 major-league seasons and had avoided an arm-related IL stint leading into this year. Injuries, though, become much more common for those who have crossed the age-30 threshold.
“It’s just one of those things that happens,” Ray said. “I take care of my body. I take care of my arm. I’m in the training room almost every day just doing maintenance. Stuff like this happens. There’s not a whole lot you can do to prevent it.”
The 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner will be shut down for two weeks before being re-evaluated by Seattle’s medical staff. He is expected to require a rehab stint once cleared to resume baseball activities, likely suggesting he will miss 4-6 weeks.
Ray’s production took a step back during his inaugural campaign with the Mariners, posting a 3.71 ERA, 4.17 FIP and a 19.4 percent strikeout-to-walk rate difference over 32 starts, worth 1.8 fWAR – all of which were noticeable declines from his award-winning 2021 showing.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.