Kyle Seager heads to paternity list amid flurry of Mariners roster moves

On a day the Seattle Mariners made their third trade in the span of four days, they also made a flurry of roster moves.

Welcome to Marinerland before the MLB nonwaiver trade deadline, which is 1 p.m. Tuesday.

They activated left-hander James Paxton from the disabled list, as expected, to start Monday’s series opener against the Houston Astros. Kyle Seager was added to the major-league paternity list because of the birth of his third child, something the Mariners had obviously been preparing for.

MLB allows that a player remain on the paternity list for no longer than three day. He and his wife, Julie Seager, welcomed their third child.

“I know that everybody is doing good, which is the good news,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

He said he wasn’t sure if Seager might return before the three days.

“I talked to him a lot leading up to this and trying to come up with a plan and it was just about him keeping us in the loop on where he was going to be,” Servais said. “I’ll probably talk to Kyle tonight or tomorrow and see where he’s at, family-wise.”

The other moves: The Mariners recalled utility infielder Nick Vincej from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned first baseman Daniel Vogelbach back to the Rainiers.

They also designated infielder Gordon Beckham for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for their newest bullpen additions, left-hander Zach Duke from the Twins and right-hander Adam Warren from the Yankees. Minor league pitcher Chase De Jong, who went to the Twins in the deal for Duke, was also previously on the Mariners’ 40-man.

Andrew Romine started at third base in Seager’s place on Monday, his first start since July 7 against the Colorado Rockies.

Over his past 11 games played since June 21 (yes, just 11 games in more than a month) Romine has hit .391 (9-for-23).

He said on Monday that he’s never endured something like this before in his career, waiting so long before his next playing opportunity.

“I haven’t really figured this out yet,” Romine said. “I don’t know a lot of guys who have figured out how to sit for a long period of time and then play and do well. It’s just a weird role.”

But a role that is so valuable for the Mariners considering how short their bench is. They’ve carried three bench players to accommodate a bigger bullpen the majority of the season, and since one of their bench players needs to be a backup catcher, and one an outfielder, Romine gives them a player who can play any position. He’s even entered as a pitcher.

Though, he acknowledged it’s a role that goes under-appreciated.

“It’s just not at the forefront of people’s minds,” Romine said. “They’re looking at what’s happening every day and not what goes on behind the scenes. It just doesn’t become as important to some.”

For the season, Romine entered Monday batting .213 in 48 games (19 starts).

Healy at third?

Another option to replace Seager at third base: Ryon Healy?

Healy got some time there for the first time this season on Saturday late in the Mariners’ 11-5 loss to the Angels. Even though he had played exclusively at first base for the Mariners before Saturday, he has still played almost as many games at third base as he has first base in his three major league seasons.

And with Robinson Cano set to get time at first base and designated hitter when he returns from his 80-game suspension by Aug. 14, getting Healy some time at third base as a right-handed option to complement Seager’s left-handed bat could give the Mariners some matchup options.

Healy said last week that the Mariners had not approached him about potentially playing some third base, but he did say he would do whatever the team needs to win.

“I thought he handled it well in the few chances he had there (Saturday),” Servais said. “Ryon has a really good arm, we saw that. He can really throw. Certainly he’s more comfortable at first base.

“Seags is our third baseman. He’ll continue to be our third baseman. But if you’re in a pinch and something happens and you need to slide a guy over there, no reservations about sliding Ryon over there.”

Ramirez recovery

Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez had his rehab start rescheduled to Tuesday with Double-A Arkansas when he was supposed to start Monday for Triple-A Tacoma.

The Rainiers’ game was cancelled in New Orleans because of wet field conditions.

Servais said he was hoping Ramirez could stretch out to 4-5 innings, which would be his third rehab start in his recovery from a right teres major strain. He said it’s likely Ramirez will need one more rehab start after that before the Mariners activate him from the disabled list.

On tap

Right-hander Mike Leake (8-6, 4.15 ERA) starts for the Mariners in their 7:10 p.m. Tuesday game at Safeco Field against the Houston Astros, who will start right-hander Charlie Morton (11-2, 2.89 ERA).

The game will broadcast on Root Sports and 710-AM radio.

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 6:26 PM.