The Seattle Mariners could be without outfielder Kyle Lewis on Opening Day due to a deep bone bruise in his knee that is more severe than originally thought.
"I'm as surprised as anybody, based on what we thought here the first couple days," Mariners manager Scott Servais said, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. "But it makes sense that it hasn't really responded the way he or the training staff was hoping it would. But we are getting close to Opening Day, so I guess it puts that in jeopardy a little bit."
The 25-year-old was the club's top hitter in 2020, hitting .262/.364/.437 with 11 home runs in 58 games en route to winning the AL Rookie of the Year award while receiving down-ballot MVP votes.
Lewis sustained the injury when he collided with the outfield wall during Monday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he's since been experiencing inflammation in the knee area. He may avoid the injured list, but Servais said Lewis won't appear in another spring game.
If the Mariners place Lewis on the 10-day IL, it's unclear who would join Mitch Haniger and Taylor Trammell - who has yet to play in the majors - in Seattle's outfield. Jake Fraley is an option, and Servais indicated the club hasn't ruled out pursuing an external replacement, Kramer notes.
It doesn't appear likely that the Mariners will consider using top prospect Jarred Kelenic as a short-term replacement after recently reassigning him to minor-league camp.
