RADIO
Seattle Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor is expected to miss at least four-to-six weeks after an MRI done Saturday morning revealed he has a fractured wrist, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. Taylor, 24, saw time with the Mariners last season and played well for them producing a .287/.347/.346 slash line in 47 games while playing very solid defense up the middle.
He entered camp this year trying to win the starting shortstop job with Brad Miller as his competition, but it looks like Miller will now begin the season as Seattle's shortstop by default. It is an unfortunate turn of events for the University of Virginia product, as he was hitting .421 with four extra base hits in eight Spring Training games prior to the injury.
A potential silver lining in this story is that Taylor's injury will not require surgery. It is, however, the second hand-related injury he has suffered in the past year. The shortstop fractured his pinky finger on May 19th of last season while sliding head first into a base while playing for Seattle's Triple-A affiliate, Tacoma.
Look for Brad Miller to take advantage of his time in the starting lineup during Taylor's absence. The 25 year old turned in a rather uninspiring 2014 campaign hitting only .221, but fared much better in 2013 slashing .265/.318/.418 over 76 games for the Mariners. He also is a former top prospect at his position, and in theory possesses all the necessary tools to turn things around for himself this coming season.
