Haniger: 'I’m going to be better than ever'

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mitch Haniger insists he’ll be back at some point this season, and he is relieved to finally have answers to his ongoing back and core muscle issues, but the right fielder has a long road of recovery ahead as he finally arrived at camp on Thursday following two surgeries in the past month.

Haniger’s rehab program for the next few weeks will be limited to walking, and the 29-year-old acknowledges that he’s lost considerable weight while being unable to work out and lift weights for the past month.

“There’s no lifting, no bending, no twisting,” Haniger said. “It’s very slow in the beginning. Get through the first couple of weeks with that plan and we’ll listen to what the training stuff has and what the doctors are saying.”

But for Haniger, having answers to his lingering problems and a path forward now provides welcome relief.

“I’m feeling good right now,” he said. “I’m in a lot less pain, which is great. I’m excited to be in camp with the guys and be around everybody. Hopefully, I can contribute to the team as much as I can in this time when I’m not going to be on the field.”

The 2018 American League All-Star hasn’t played since rupturing a testicle on a foul ball on June 6. He attempted to return several times over the final four months of the 2019 season, but says now that a torn adductor muscle went undiagnosed and led to back issues in August.

After rest and recovery, he worked out well over the summer until ramping up his throwing and hitting programs in January. He awoke one day “with a ton of pain and couldn’t walk,” which led to an MRI and surgery in Philadelphia to finally repair the adductor muscle attachment.

But once he started rehabbing from that surgery, further back pain led to another MRI of his lumbar area, the reveal of a significantly herniated disc and then a second surgery in Los Angeles.

“I’m really happy now that both problems are fixed,” he said. “Surgery intervention was needed to fix both of those issues, and now I’m really excited that I can move forward and have a clear plan to get back on the field.

“I don’t know what the timetables are at as of now. The main goal for me is to take it one day at a time and try to do my stuff in the training room, make sure my diet is good, make sure my sleep is good -- just everything I can do to control this healing process. Hopefully, everything goes as quickly and smoothly as possible and [I can] ultimately get back on the field and help this team.”

The Mariners aren’t going to rush things, and will instead use the time Haniger is missing to give rookies Jake Fraley and Braden Bishop long looks in right field, as well as veteran Carlos Gonzáles and top prospects Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez.

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“I’m glad he’s in camp, but understand that it’s going to be a process for him to just get the strength back and work from there,” said manager Scott Servais.

Haniger, one of the most disciplined workers on the Mariners, is understandably chafing at the long return. But he expressed patience on Thursday and an understanding that his situation can’t be rushed.

“It’s definitely frustrating. You kick yourself about what could have been done differently,” he said. “At the end of the day, leading up to the surgeries, I had a really good offseason. Talking to my wife and trainers and guys here, I was like, ‘Look, I was killing it this offseason with a herniated disc and a torn adductor and not knowing it and putting up some really good [workout] numbers.'

“The way I choose to look at it is -- what am I going to be capable of when I’m actually healthy? That’s how I choose to look at it. I’m excited to see what level I can be at, now that I’m fixed and starting this healing process. I think I’m going to be better than ever when I get back on the field.”

Will that return be this year?

“I intend to and I hope so and I expect to be,” he said.