SEATTLE -- A season that began with significant promise for Ryan Bliss before getting derailed by injury ended in frustration, with the 25-year-old infielder suffering a right meniscus injury during his rehab assignment that required surgery, general manager Justin Hollander confirmed Monday.
“We’re really disappointed, for Ryan and for us, because we really thought he could provide meaningful impact for us as we got into the latter stages of the month, and into the playoffs hopefully,” Hollander said. “He just brings a skillset that’s unique, he can really run, he’s good on the bases, obviously he hits left-handed pitching well. It’s a disappointment for us, but that probably pales in comparison to the disappointment for him.”
Bliss, Seattle’s Opening Day starter at second base, had been out since he tore his left biceps on a swing during the Mariners’ April 8 game against the Astros. In the following months, Hollander and the Mariners repeatedly stressed that Bliss was ahead of schedule in his recovery and wouldn’t rule him out for a late-season return -- a hope that seemed to be justified when Bliss began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Aug. 28.
Six games into his rehab assignment, though, Bliss hurt his knee on the bases, and imaging revealed the injury. Hollander said that doctors wouldn’t know its full extent until they performed the surgery -- which took place Monday -- but expected Bliss to be ready for Spring Training next year.
It will, however, take him out of the running to play in winter ball.
Bliss, who was the Mariners’ No. 12 prospect when he made his MLB debut last season, played himself into the Opening Day lineup with a strong showing in Spring Training and started 11 of the club’s first 12 games at second. After a slow opening homestand, Bliss hit safely in six straight games before landing on the IL.
His injury was yet another blow in a spring filled with them for the Mariners. But over the course of the summer, Seattle saw its roster slowly return to health, capped by Victor Robles’ return from a dislocated shoulder after significant time on the IL on Aug. 23.
Bliss -- who had gone 5-for-13 with three doubles and seven RBIs in his rehab assignment and was nearly halfway to the rough target of 50 plate appearances the Mariners had set for him -- was set to be the next piece to come back. Until he wasn’t.
“He had a real runway this year to show that he could do some things at the big league level, had one injury, got almost all the way back after missing most of the year, ahead of schedule,” Hollander said. “Then to have something else pop up, I’m sure it’s disappointing.”
Seattle’s situation at second base looks a lot different than it was when Bliss first got hurt. Dylan Moore is now on the Rangers after being designated for assignment. Leo Rivas -- who started there in the Mariners’ series opener against the Cardinals -- is on his second stint with the big league team after coming back when rosters expanded. Rookie Cole Young has started 65 games since being called up on May 31, but has seen his workload lessen slightly over the past couple weeks. Jorge Polanco, who is still getting most of his starts at DH, has started 10 games at second since the beginning of August.
For the past three months, the Mariners had been hopeful that Bliss could throw his hat back into the crowded ring as well, just in time for the playoff push. Now, though, that return will have to wait until next year.
Pitching updates
The rest of the injuries Hollander discussed Monday were for pitchers, with Gregory Santos (right knee) making his second rehab outing on Monday and Logan Evans (right elbow) hopefully beginning his own assignment next week.
The final update -- the least consequential for this season’s club but by far the oddest -- came regarding Ryan Sloan, Seattle’s No. 5 prospect (MLB Pipeline’s No. 41 overall), whose season came to an early end due to an operation on his right eye to fix a lifelong condition.
According to Hollander, the procedure corrected the muscles that keep the eye in place to make sure they pull evenly; previously, Sloan had been forced to exert extra effort to keep himself from going cross-eyed.
“It’s something he’s had, roughly his whole life, that we knew about,” Hollander said. “Just in talking to him and talking to our eye doctor … it’s something that it’s to a point that he felt like it was time to address it.”