Mariners place Brendan Donovan on injured list, promote Will Wilson

SEATTLE – The Mariners placed third baseman Brendan Donovan on the injured list Monday afternoon with a left groin strain, one of three roster moves that are most intriguing because of the one move that wasn’t made.

Top prospect Colt Emerson, a much-hyped 20-year-old infielder, will remain in Triple-A Tacoma, for now. Emerson, it turns out, has been dealing with a sore wrist, and that was a factor in the Mariners’ decision not to promote him right now.

“It just didn’t feel like this was the right time for that,” manager Dan Wilson said.

Instead, the Mariners selected Will Wilson, a right-handed-hitting infielder, from Tacoma as the corresponding move for Donovan.

Veteran utility player Miles Mastrobuoni was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Wilson on the 40-man roster.

Donovan’s IL stint is retroactive to Saturday , and the club is hopeful he won’t require an extended stay on the IL.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a longer-term situation,” Wilson said. “But again, we just kind of have to assess it as we go.”

Donovan missed two games earlier this month after he tweaked his right groin landing awkwardly on the first-base bag in Anaheim. He missed two more games a week later with an illness.

Last October, Donovan had surgery to repair a sports hernia, an injury that kept him out of the St. Louis lineup for a month late last season. The Mariners have been careful in their handling of Donovan since acquiring him in a trade with the Cardinals in February.

The latest groin issue is a likely related to his sports hernia, Wilson said.

“This is just something that we’re going to take as cautiously as we can,” the M’s manager said. “It’s early and we want to give him the best chance to get back and be 100 %.”

Last month, the Mariners gave Emerson an eight-year, $95-million contract extension, a record deal for a player yet to make his major-league debut that fueled further anticipation for his impending arrival in Seattle.

It’s not happening just yet.

Offensively, Emerson has had a solid start to the Triple-A season, though not necessarily overwhelming. He has a .258/.361/.452 slash line (.813 OPS) with two homers, six doubles and a healthy 11% walk rate through his first 73 plate appearances.

His strikeout rate has, however, spiked to a career-high 26% and his hard hit rate has dipped to 38.6%.

Emerson was given Sunday off with the Rainiers as he works through some minor ailments.

In 14 games with Tacoma this year, Wilson is hitting .275 with two doubles, one homer and a .783 OPS in 40 at-bats.

Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2019, Wilson appeared in 34 games with the Guardians last year, hitting .192 in 78 at-bats while playing second base and third base.