Haniger running out of time for 2019 return

HOUSTON -- While Mitch Haniger hasn’t officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season, that decision now appears a near certainty after the Mariners' outfielder received a second opinion on his lingering back issue this week.

Haniger has missed more than three months with a ruptured testicle and now a back problem that cropped up during his rehab process. With just three weeks remaining in the season, time obviously is running out on a potential return, though manager Scott Servais said the latest test didn’t reveal anything more serious with the back.

“I think the findings from the second opinion were very similar to what he was led to believe on the first opinion,” Servais said. “It’s something that should calm down with rest and treatment and doing specific exercises. But there was nothing more than that, which is a good thing, is how I take it.”

As for any further attempt at playing this season?

“I don’t know,” Servais said. “We’re certainly getting to that point in the season where it’d be kind of hard. I do know Mitch and he’s going to do everything he can to keep working out. He wants to feel better and hopefully gear up toward some baseball activity, where he’d actually have a bat in his hand again, whether that’s BP or whatever.

"But we’ll see. I’ll get a chance to sit down and talk to him face to face when we get home.”

The Mariners are just finishing a 10-game road trip and have Monday off before resuming action Tuesday in Seattle against the Reds.

Fraley to undergo MRI on Monday

Rookie center fielder Jake Fraley will have an MRI on his injured right thumb on Monday in Seattle. The 24-year-old bent his glove hand back when brushing into right fielder Mallex Smith as the two converged on a ball in the gap hit by the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez in the first inning of Saturday’s 2-1 loss.

“He did have an X-ray and it didn’t look like a fracture, but he’ll get an MRI on the ligaments,” Servais said Sunday. “He’s really sore. He’d rolled on it in the past, and I think those ligaments are stretched or inflamed. Hopefully, that’s all it is and it’ll calm down eventually.”

Fraley, the Mariners’ No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has hit just .150 in his first 12 games since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma. The 24-year-old missed several games last week while dealing with the murder of the wife and son of Rays prospect Blake Bivens, who was a teammate of his last year in the Tampa Bay system.

Fraley’s wife was close friends with Bivins’ wife.

“It’s been rough for him,” Servais said. “It kind of started with a quad injury in Triple-A and he was down for a while there. He got back going again and started swinging better, we call him up and he had the personal issue he had to take care of for a few days. There’s been a lot going on.”

Worth noting

• Domingo Santana has begun swinging the bat and increasing his throwing as he recovers from a strained right elbow, and Servais indicated the right fielder could return before the end of the season.

Santana has been on the 10-day injured list since Aug. 19 and was limited to designated-hitter duties for about a month before that after straining the elbow.

• The Mariners’ upcoming six-game homestand will include Ichiro Suzuki Weekend on Sept. 13-15 when they face the White Sox. Friday’s game will be followed by a fireworks display that will accompany Ichiro highlights on the big screen. Saturday will have a pregame presentation of the Franchise Achievement Award for Ichiro, with the first 20,000 fans receiving an Ichiro bobblehead. The first 15,000 fans for Sunday’s series finale will receive an Ichiro T-shirt.

• The Mariners outrighted right-handed reliever Matt Carasiti to Triple-A Tacoma, which opens a 40-man roster spot. The Major League roster is now at 37, with that expected to be filled out when three or four prospects are called up from Double-A Arkansas once the Travelers’ postseason run concludes.