J-Rod putting ankle sprain behind him with recent performance

ST. LOUIS -- Julio Rodríguez laughed in the visiting clubhouse at Busch Stadium on Saturday afternoon when told that J.P. Crawford said that he didn’t even move when watching Seattle’s center fielder run down a remarkable catch that proved critical in Friday’s win over the Cardinals.

Rodríguez then asked, “Did you get the sprint speed on that?”

His inquiry was notable for a variety of reasons, but perhaps above all because it spoke to how strong he feels after suffering a high right ankle sprain on July 21 then returning before it was fully healed.

As for the tracking metric from Statcast, it had him at 30.1 feet-per-second on the catch in the left-center gap, which also carried just a 30% catch probability. Told that sprint speed league average is 27.0 and that anything above 30.0 is elite, Rodríguez wryly smiled and said, “Oh, I know about the numbers.”

“It feels the best, honestly, because I feel like I can impact the team, in as many ways as I can,” Rodríguez said. “I feel like having some limitations, obviously, it's kind of part of the game sometimes. But it's never as fun as when I'm feeling healthy and good to go, and I go and make plays like that.”

Rodríguez still feels minor effects from the ankle -- which he hurt crashing into the padding of the center-field wall at T-Mobile Park during a game against the Astros -- but not nearly at the level of when he was activated from the injured list three weeks later.

His stolen base in the first inning on Friday was an illustrative example, as he opted to slide head-first instead of leading with his feet. He completely ditched the head-first slide after it led to wrist and back injuries during his rookie season, but his current situation has forced him to adapt.

“Just kind of mixing it in, just given the positions that my foot gets, it's just not the most comfortable,” Rodríguez said. “So I just feel like, now I'm thankful that I'm able to run and I do all those things. That I will have to go head-first now, it's probably going to be a thing for now, because it helps and allows me to do what I need to do.”

Rodríguez’s pregame routine is still a balance between treatment from Seattle’s athletic training staff and tempering more exertion in batting practice and shagging fly balls, the latter of which he’s limited more to ensure he’s at his best capacity by first pitch each night.

After being activated off the IL, he was limited exclusively at designated hitter for his first nine games back -- admitting at the time that he was still rehabbing while playing -- but he’s been back in center field for 14 of the 15 games since.

It’s been on this road trip that Rodríguez has really heated up at the plate, entering Saturday 12-for-32 (.375) with two homers and a double over his past eight games, good for a 1.055 OPS. He’s also struck out just four times in 39 plate appearances for a 10.1% rate, way below his season average of 25.6%.

The on-base presence is a positive, but the Mariners could sorely use his power -- like the 448-foot blast that he crushed in Oakland on Thursday.

“I feel like I'm keeping it really simple,” Rodríguez said, “and just kind of sticking to my strengths, not trying to do too much. ... Simplifying it like that has helped me out a lot, so I'm just going to continue to work at it and continue to get better at it.”