Seattle Mariners Rumors: Felix Hernandez Getting Start Skipped

Seattle Mariners rumors have Felix Hernandez missing his next start. Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon is going to skip Hernandez this time through the starting rotation, presumably to give the All-Star pitcher some extra rest. A report from MLB.com confirms that this will take place, meaning Hernandez won’t have to face the Houston Astros on Monday (August 31). That might not be a bad thing, with how well the Astros have been playing recently.

McClendon says he is going to be doing this with all the pitchers in the starting rotation, in order to keep them “fresh” for the month of September. The team was already getting close to innings restrictions placed on Mike Montgomery, Taijuan Walker, and Roenis Elias, so a move like this is very understandable by the coaching staff. Getting spot start will be Edgar Omos on Sunday (August 30), and then Vidal Nuno re-enters the rotation on Monday.

Speaking about these Seattle Mariners rumors, Lloyd McClendon had a lot to say about Felix Hernandez and his starting rotation.

“I did the same thing last year to freshen my pitchers up and Felix had the best September of his career. Everybody thought I was nuts when I did, and I’ll do it again because it’s the right thing to do. Ideally, you’d like to be able to freshen guys up twice during the course of the year. For various reasons, with the injuries that we had, it wasn’t possible.”

Using Olmos in this situation will help the front office see what he can do on the mound. He has pitched 7-and-two-thirds innings of relief since getting called up from Triple-A Tacoma, but he was a starting pitcher with the Rainiers before this stint. Now the team can see if he is someone to strongly consider for the starting rotation in the 2016 MLB season, as well. It can’t hurt, especially since Hisashi Iwakuma is about to become a free agent in the offseason.

On the season, Felix Hernandez has made 26 starts for the Mariners, posting a 15-8 record, a 3.66 ERA, and a 1.19 WHIP. He has had several rough outings since the All-Star break, though, so giving him a week off can only help to save his arm for later on down the road. These Seattle Mariners rumors make a lot of sense, even if fantasy baseball owners get frustrated that King Felix is about to miss a start just as head-to-head leagues start playoffs.

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