Robles has fracture in shoulder, but may avoid surgery
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SEATTLE -- Victor Robles, who suffered a dislocated left shoulder when making a remarkable diving catch into the netting on Sunday in San Francisco, will be sidelined for at least 12 weeks after an MRI exam revealed a small fracture in the humeral head of the shoulder, the team announced on Tuesday.
Currently, it appears that the fracture will heal without requiring surgery, though that will be monitored to confirm it remains the case. If no surgery is required, the fracture should heal in approximately six weeks, and once it's fully healed, a rehab schedule of approximately six weeks would be required.
Robles was placed on the 10-day injured list on Monday, just before undergoing the MRI away from the ballpark in Seattle.
The timeline, which was shared in a press release from the club, would target Robles¡¯ potential return some time in early July, though if he ends up needing surgery or experiences setbacks, that timeline would significantly change. Robles will undergo follow-up examinations in a week, per manager Dan Wilson.
¡°Once he gets that, we'll be able to tell a little bit more from there,¡± Wilson said.
Robles was off to a 12-for-44 start at the plate, with three doubles, three runs scored and three stolen bases in as many attempts through 10 games, good for a slash line of .273/.283/.341 (.624 OPS).
Since joining the Mariners last June, Robles has been one of their most valuable players, with a slash line of .319/.376/.447 (.823 OPS), good for a 143 wRC+ (league average is 100) and 2.9 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, trailing only Cal Raleigh (4.2) and Julio Rodr¨ªguez (3.3) on the team in that stretch.
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But that¡¯s over only 87 games, which would equate to 5.4 WAR over a 162-game season. For context, only 14 players in MLB reached that threshold in 2024. With the Mariners, Robles has also hit four homers and 23 doubles with 29 RBIs and is 33-for-34 in steal attempts.
The 27-year-old¡¯s rapid ascent since joining the team after he was released by the Nationals led to a two-year, $9.75 million extension that includes an additional $2 million in performance incentives and a $9 million club option for 2027.
Included in those incentives were $500,000 for accumulating 500 and 600 plate appearances for 2025 and 2026, each. Robles has reached both of those benchmarks only once; he accrued 617 plate appearances with the Nationals during their World Series title run in 2019.
In Seattle¡¯s first game with Robles sidelined -- a dramatic 4-3 victory over Houston -- Rodr¨ªguez moved up to the leadoff spot and Luke Raley took over in right field, which could be a sign of how manager Dan Wilson plans to address Robles' absence in the longer term.
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¡°I think we'll continue to look at it as we go,¡± Wilson said. ¡°I don't know that there's a set answer at the moment.¡±
Then on Tuesday, Dylan Moore, who is 5-for-11 this year with a career .770 OPS vs. lefties, hit leadoff against southpaw Framber Valdez.
"It's a good matchup, I think, to have him at the top,¡± Wilson said. ¡°He provides that speed, that spark. He can pick up a base, get things moving on the bases.¡±
Raley had been splitting time at first base with Rowdy Tellez, though Tellez saw more action there in Spring Training and once the regular season began. Raley, who was brought up as an outfielder, is also more comfortable in his natural position, and the club has hinted that it sees him as more of an everyday player than serving in the platoon-heavy role it initially envisioned when acquiring him from Tampa Bay in the 2023-24 offseason.
The Mariners also recalled outfielder Dominic Canzone from Triple-A Tacoma as the corresponding roster move when Robles was placed on the IL. Like Raley, Canzone also bats lefty and will likely see most of his playing time against right-handed pitching. In this alignment, Tellez, who is off to a 1-for-18 start after a strong spring, could see an even greater role at first base.
Tuesday¡¯s development is in some ways an encouraging one, given the nature of Robles¡¯ injury and how bad it looked on Sunday, but also a concerning one, given his tremendous value to an offense that's still looking to get going -- and all that must still go right in his recovery to reach the 12-week timeline. The 4-7 Mariners entered Tuesday ranked 21st in OPS (.659), 21st in runs (36, or 3.3 per game) and 23rd in batting average (.208).