AJ Pollock hits the IL with hamstring strain as Mariners recall RHP Isaiah Campbell, OF Taylor Trammell, option Prelander Berroa

The Seattle Mariners announced today that they’re recalling OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma and RHP Isaiah Campbell from Double-A Arkansas. RHP Prelander Berroa has been optioned back to the Travelers after making his major league debut last night, while AJ Pollock is headed to the 10-day IL with a strained hamstring.

Berroa has big-league stuff but has struggled to command it throughout his career, and while his debut showed flashes of that high-ceiling promise, it also opened with a wild pitch allowing a runner to score followed by a walk before Berroa was able to strike out the swing-happy Bo Bichette on four pitches, getting him hacking after a slider. With the bullpen tapped, Servais sent Berroa out for a second inning, where his command devolved further and he walked two more batters on some wildly-located sliders and fastballs that were easy takes.

Campbell’s stuff is less high-octane than Berroa’s, but he’s a reliable strike-thrower and his background in starting means he can be comfortably deployed in a multi-inning role, a necessity for the Mariners bullpen, which is stretched fairly thin these days. Campbell has been down after getting optioned, “doing nothing” in the words of Scott Servais, so he’s a truly fresh arm for the ‘pen.

Taylor Trammell gets another crack at the big-league roster with AJ Pollock going down with a strained hamstring. Apparently the hamstring has been bothering Pollock for a while, but was aggravated late in last night’s game while he was running the bases. Manager Scott Servais was clearly disappointed, noting how “unfortunate” the timing of Pollock’s injury is given the recent loss of Jarred Kelenic as well:

“He had felt something there, and he knows his body very well, he’s dealt with a lot of soft tissue injuries like that, but he felt good before the game … AJ had really been swinging the bat much better, even if you go back before the break in San Francisco, so playing time was going to pick up for him.”

While Trammell has a fair bit of big league experience, it’s a mild surprise to see him recalled in place of Pollock, as the club had just noted the veteran RHH was slated to platoon for the foreseeable future with rookie OF Cade Marlowe. Perhaps playing with fire on one of the more traffic-laden weekends of the year, Trammell is reportedly not yet “physically in the state of Washington,” but “will be here by game time” as he commutes up from Sacramento where the Rainiers were playing. Pro tip, Taylor: take the Light Rail from SeaTac!

Trammell, another LHH, is a more versatile outfielder and speedy baserunner than 3B/1B/cOF Jake Scheiner, who has slugged well in the Pacific Coast League this summer and swings from the right side. However, both Scheiner and utility man Sam Haggerty have had more success against lefty pitching than Trammell or Marlowe, suggesting that this will push Dylan Moore into a starting role with greater frequency. The club intends to have Marlowe and Trammell compete for playing time in left field with Pollock out, with Servais complimenting his swing decisions in Tacoma and noting “everybody here loves Taylor, so now he’ll get an opportunity to go out and play.”