How Seattle Mariners can handle it

The Seattle Mariners were dealt a potentially costly blow to their postseason chances on Tuesday when MLB announced a 10-game suspension for outfielder Victor Robles.

Another rain delay? Weather could disrupt Seattle Mariners’ finale vs Phillies

Robles, who is on a rehab assignment in Triple-A Tacoma, received the suspension because of an incident Sunday where he thew his bat towards the pitcher’s mound, walked toward the mound and tossed a cooler onto the field from the dugout after being hit by a pitch from Las Vegas’ Joey Estes. It came after Robles had already been hit by a pitch three times during the series, including once by Estes, and was hit earlier in the game by Estes on a swing.

While Robles’ actions took place during a minor league game, his suspension must be served at the big league level. It will start when he is activated to the roster, and the Mariners will be required to play a man down while Robles serves his ban.

Robles, who played for Tacoma on Tuesday night following the suspension news, is appealing the decision. Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports reported on social media that suspension appeals “typically happen soon after the player asks for the appeal.”

More: Seattle Mariners’ Robles apologizes for throwing bat in Triple-A outburst

The timing of the suspension couldn’t be much worse for the Mariners. They’re in the middle of a playoff race and trying to capture their first AL West crown since 2001, and Robles’ speed, defense and right-handed bat are all tools the club use down the stretch.

Furthermore, MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer reported that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Tuesday the club was targeting next week for an activation date for Robles. Those plans may have to change.

What to do with Robles?

The suspension makes it seem likely that Robles won’t be activated to the big leagues until Sept. 1 when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players, which would allow the M’s to have 13 position players available even with Robles serving a ban.

That is the most obvious decision they could make, but there are alternative paths they could take to get Robles back quicker. The M’s could still activate Robles next week like Kramer reported they were targeting, and take on a little risk by either playing down a man on the bench or down an arm in the bullpen. The latter seems like a viable path to getting Robles back quicker without handcuffing in-game decision making with roster constraints.

MLB has restrictions that allow teams to carry no more than 13 pitchers on their 26-man roster, with that number growing to 14 when rosters expand in September. But there is no restriction on the number of position players, meaning Seattle could still carry a full bench while Robles is suspended and go with a seven-man bullpen before the Sept. 1 roster expansion.

Using a short-handed bullpen for an extended period could be detrimental, especially late in the season when arms are taxed. But the Mariners wouldn’t have to take on the risk for an extended time, and they could even do it for just one game if they wanted.

The scenario in this thinking that would work best for the Mariners would be to activate Robles ahead of their Aug. 29 series opener against the Cleveland Guardians. That would allow Robles to serve three games of his suspension before Sept. 1, which could be more than a 30% chunk of it if his appeal results in a reduced sentence.

Seattle has an off day prior to the start of the series with the Guardians, so presumably the bullpen would be fresh to start the series. And if the bullpen were to get taxed in the first two games of the series, the M’s could have a reliever on the taxi squad ready to be called up.

How Seattle Mariners can handle it

Tags: