Back from injury, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger ‘looks strong’ ahead of spring training
After missing more than 150 games the past two seasons with injuries, Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger “looks terrific physically” and is ready to take the field when the club opens spring camp in Peoria, Ariz. next month.
“Mitch looks great,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said Tuesday during a media session that was part of the club’s Virtual Baseball Bash.
Echoing what manager Scott Servais said about Haniger’s progress in December, Dipoto said the former All-Star right fielder has looked strong and physical as he’s resumed full baseball activity.
“This has been a tough year-and-a-half for Mitch,” Dipoto said. “Not playing. The emotion that goes along with not playing. None of us, myself maybe most especially, really understood the significance of the two injuries that he was trying to recover from and rehabilitate at the same time.
“What he looks like today as opposed to what he looked like this time last year is entirely different. He looks strong. He looks physical. He’s going through full baseball activity in a high speed way that he just wasn’t able to do at any point over the last year-and-a-half.
“So, we’re really excited about seeing Mitch come in.”
Haniger, a former first-round draft pick by the Brewers, was an All-Star selection in 2018 in his second season in Seattle, and hit .285/.366/.493 with 38 doubles, four triples, 26 home runs, and 93 RBI in 157 games.
But, his next season was completely derailed less than halfway through when he fouled a pitch off himself in a game against Houston in June, which resulted in a ruptured testicle and led to surgery.
Haniger missed the rest of the 2019 season after his attempts to return later in the summer were upended by subsequent back issues.
He finished hitting .220/.314/.463 with 13 doubles, a triple, 15 homers, 32 RBI and what was at the time a majors-leading 81 strikeouts in 63 games.
With his sights set on making a comeback last spring, Haniger was working through his offseason program and progressing well until a setback in January resulted in two more surgeries in a three-week span.
He reported to camp in February, but didn’t participate in on-field workouts. He eventually opened the season on the 45-day injured list, and the Mariners made it clear they wouldn’t push for a quick return in a shortened season.
The extra time spent resting, rehabbing and eventually resuming baseball activity seems to have Haniger back at full strength. An Instagram story he posted in November showed him taking swings in a cage with what appeared to be full range of motion.
Mariners assistant hitting coach Jarret DeHart has visited Haniger in the offseason, Dipoto said, and “spent a little bit of time with him and came away gushing.”
Hitting coach Tim Laker has also been in consistent contact with Haniger, Servais said in December.
“His workouts have been going great,” Servais said. “ … He’s in a really good spot physically and mentally.”
Which is an exciting development for the Mariners, who now enter spring training with the reigning American League Rookie of the Year in center field in Kyle Lewis, and their All-Star right fielder expected to resume his starting role.
“The easy identification is, when Mitch Haniger is healthy, he’s our best player,” Dipoto said. “Mitch is a multi-skilled, well-rounded, diverse player who, when we’ve seen him at the top of his game, is really one of the more complete players in the American League. If we can get some version of that Mitch Haniger back on the field, it really changes our arc, and we know that.
“He’s going to play his 30-year-old season this year. Nobody is more attentive to the way they keep and take care of their body than Mitch, and we feel like he still has his best years as a player in front of him, and we’re going to find out how close that is to reality when we get down to Peoria next month.”
Injury updates
▪ Mariners catcher Tom Murphy, who was expected to be the Opening Day starter in 2020, but fractured his left foot during summer camp and missed all 60 games, is back at full strength ahead of camp.
Servais said last month Murphy “feels great” and has resumed his usual rigorous offseason routine.
“Murph is a full go,” Servais said.
Murphy hit .273/.324/.535 with 12 doubles, 18 homers and 40 RBI in his first season with the Mariners in 2019 in 75 games, including starting 71 behind the plate.
The 29-year-old catcher is expected to share the catching load with Luis Torrens in 2021, who the Mariners acquired from the Padres at last summer’s trade deadline. Both catchers will be given the “opportunity to play regularly,” Dipoto said.
▪ Shed Long Jr., who started 29 of the 34 games he played for the Mariners last season at second base, has “recovered very quickly” from surgery in the fall to repair a stress fracture in his shin, Dipoto said.
Long has resumed full baseball activity, and is expected to battle for a roster spot when the Mariners open camp.
“Shed will come into spring training and compete, whether for that open spot at second base with Dylan Moore or the opportunity to get utility at-bats,” Dipoto said. “We’ve given Shed some exposure moving him out to the outfield and other spots. He’s an athletic player, so we think he’s going to come in 100%, ready to play.”
Long was Seattle’s Opening Day second baseman in 2020, and made defensive strides in his second season with the organization, but struggled at the plate, finishing .171/.242/.291 in 128 plate appearances before ending the season on the IL.
▪ Reliever Andres Munoz, another acquisition from the Padres at the deadline, is progressing and throwing off the mound, but will not be ready for Opening Day, Dipoto said.
Munoz debuted at 20 years old for San Diego in 2019, and posted a 3.91 ERA in 22 relief appearances, but missed the entirety of the 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March.
Dipoto has referred to the 22-year-old right-hander as an “electric arm” in the past, and Munoz could be a key back end reliever for the Mariners moving forward.
“He will be about a year in his recovery from Tommy John when we are down in Peoria,” Dipoto said. “Right about the middle of March he gets to that 12-month mark, and if we’re being conservative, it’s usually a 12-15 month recovery from Tommy John. We would rather err on the side of caution.
“But, Andres, he’s been throwing free and easy for quite some time now. He feels great and the (physical therapists) have been very positive about where he is in his recovery.”
