Mariners place Mitch Haniger on IL with high-ankle sprain

MIAMI — One day after being activated from the COVID injured list, Mitch Haniger was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right high-ankle sprain.

The Mariners recalled outfielder Stuart Fairchild from Class AAA Tacoma to take Haniger’s place on the roster.

A trip to the injured list seemed inevitable when Haniger hobbled off the field after singling to left field in the second inning of Friday night’s loss to the Marlins.

Haniger underwent an MRI on Saturday morning at a hospital in Miami and appeared in the clubhouse still wearing the walking boot he was given the night before. He changed and went into the trainers room for treatment.

“I do not have an update yet on Mitch Haniger’s results from his MRI,” manager Scott Servais said pregame. “We are waiting to get those back. He just got to the ballpark here a few minutes ago. We are waiting to have a doctor take a look at that and see where it takes him from there. He’s obviously very sore today.”

Servais didn’t announce the roster move pregame or confirm that there was one in the making with Fairchild en route to Miami from Las Vegas where the Rainiers were playing.

After the Mariners’ 3-1 loss to the Marlins Saturday night, when Haniger’s presence in the lineup was missed, Servais had an update.

“It’s a grade 2 high-ankle sprain,” Servais said. “He’s going to be out a little while. We’ll have to wait to see how he responds to treatments, get the swelling down, get the range of motion going back and see where it takes us.”

Typically a grade 2 high-ankle sprain takes anywhere from four to six weeks for recovery.

Haniger injured the ankle while fouling off a 1-2 fastball from Elieser Hernandez. He took a hard swing at the pitch where his right ankle twisted awkwardly and his back knee dropped to the ground.

“It felt like I fouled a ball off my foot,” he said.

After the initial discomfort and a few moments to gather himself, he limped back into the batter’s box, smacking a single to left on the next pitch. He knew something was wrong when he tried to run to first base.

“When I went to run, it was just killing me,” he said.

He gingerly jogged to first with the trainer and Servais coming on to the field immediately.

He was replaced by pinch runner Abraham Toro.

Haniger was activated from the COVID injured list before Friday’s game after missing the previous 11 games. He had played in eight games before his stint on the IL, posting a .176/.200/.471 slash line with a double, three home runs and seven RBI.

Fairchild, 26, is a Seattle native and was a standout outfielder for Seattle Prep. He was acquired from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations April 23. He had played in four games with Tacoma, tallying seven hits in 21 plate appearances with a homer, three RBI, two walks and three strikeouts.

A second-round pick out of Wake Forest University in 2017, Fairchild made his MLB debut in 2021, playing in 12 games for Arizona and getting two hits in 17 plate appearances. He spent most of last season with Class AAA Reno but played in just 44 games, missing significant time because of a hamstring injury and testing positive for COVID-19. He posted a .295/.385/.564 slash line with seven doubles, four triples, nine homers and 28 RBI.