A core muscle injury to Mitch Haniger forced the Mariners to rethink their outfield:
“It did result in us re-engaging in the market to see if there is an outfielder with more than 50 days of experience that we might be able to bring in to help stabilize our group,” Dipoto said. “But we don’t anticipate this being a season-long issue. Six to eight weeks, if attacked quickly, would result in Mitch spending most or almost all of the season being active on the field. We can’t plan on it, so there has to be a contingency plan, and this is what we’ve got.”
SeattleTimes.com
The injury came as Haniger recovered from the one that ended his season last June, one which I’m now sorry that I remember:
The core injury is connected to the season-ending injury Haniger suffered June 6, when he fouled a ball off into his groin area and suffered a ruptured testicle. He had immediate surgery to repair the damage. He made multiple attempts to come back in the months after the surgery, but some abdominal tightness and later lower-back discomfort due to his weakened core didn’t allow him to return to the field.
This injury is considered a sports hernia.