OF Fraley placed on COVID injured list

ANAHEIM -- Jake Fraley was placed on the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Seattle’s three-game series finale against the Angels on Sunday. In a corresponding 26-man roster move, Seattle recalled outfielder Dillon Thomas from Triple-A Tacoma.

Fraley, a third-year outfielder, has been experiencing symptoms the past few days but didn’t test positive until Saturday, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. The club is still actively testing the rest of its roster, but Servais said that in terms of contact tracing, those who were physically closest to Fraley on the team charter and in recent days are fully vaccinated.

Fraley will remain in Anaheim and isolate at the club hotel. He must quarantine for at least 10 days dating to when he first showed symptoms, per Servais.

Asked what his concern level was for Fraley and the rest of the team, Servais said: “Relatively high. With what's going on around the league, it’s certainly affected other clubs; players coming back after the All-Star break and having an exposure.

“I think we all see what's going on around our country. There has been a spike in the COVID cases, and it is concerning. It's something that we're not out of the woods yet, and it's one of the reasons it's so important, certainly, in my opinion, for people to get vaccinated.”

The Mariners are not at the 85% vaccination threshold that more than two-thirds of the league is, which allows for loosened health protocols. The club had an outbreak when they were in San Diego two months ago that ultimately landed relievers Kendall Graveman, Drew Steckenrider and Will Vest on the COVID IL for an extended period.

“Yes, we do have more guys that are vaccinated, but it’s a concern,” Servais said on the state of the roster compared to then. “Everything that we do if you’re not vaccinated, like traveling, moving around, there are still some protocols in the clubhouse as we traveled with masks and social distancing and stuff like that. So again, it's affecting a lot of teams in the league. I certainly understand it. We’re just trying to do the best we can. It is individual choice, and some of the guys were reluctant to go ahead and get the vaccine.”

Fraley is in the midst of putting together a solid season after some significant struggles his first two years. He’s been an on-base machine and has flashed the power that his prospect reports raved about. The 26-year-old is hitting .237/.409/.439 (.848 OPS) with seven homers, 23 RBIs, 33 walks, 38 strikeouts and seven stolen bases in 40 games. He also has a 143 wRC+ (league average is 100) and has been worth 1.1 WAR, per FanGraphs.

And his situation comes just 12 days ahead of the July 30 Trade Deadline, which was already shaping up to be perhaps the most interesting in the Jerry Dipoto era given where the club is at competitively (a 49-44 record and 3 1/2 games out of the second American League Wild Card entering Sunday) and that they have pieces that would be coveted by contending clubs (Graveman and outfielder Mitch Haniger among others).

It’s unlikely that Fraley’s situation will be the most prominent factor in the front office’s thinking, but given its sudden dearth of outfield depth, if the club were to spiral in the nine games between Monday and the Deadline, that could be a motivator to sell.

From a competitive standpoint, losing Fraley sets the Mariners back even further as the club is already down one roster spot due to Héctor Santiago’s 10-game suspension for using an illegal grip-enhancing agent.

Jake Bauers played left field on Sunday and Thomas figures to see time there also. Taylor Trammell won’t be a factor any time soon after being optioned to Tacoma last Sunday in order to give him more time to develop. And it’s highly unlikely that the Mariners will add an impact outfielder externally, so Seattle will work with what it has as Fraley recovers.