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MLB: Mariners place starter Drew Smyly on disabled list because of strained elbow

Mariners starter Drew Smyly was 7-12 with a 4.88 ERA for the Rays last season.
(Matt York / AP)
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Seattle Mariners starter Drew Smyly will begin the season on the disabled list and could be out for up to two months because of a strained elbow.

Smyly likely will miss six to eight weeks with a flex strain in his left elbow, a big blow after the Mariners’ roster seemed set for the start of the regular season. Smyly will rehab the injury and surgery is not expected, but he and the club are seeking additional information about how to handle the recovery.

“It’s a key loss,” General Manager Jerry Dipoto said Friday. “I can sit here and lament that we’ve lost Drew for a period of time or I can take a positive outlook and we’re days away from opening day.

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“It does nobody good if we break with our head down. Drew was and is important to our season. I anticipate he will contribute at some point, just not as soon as we expected.”

Smyly was slotted to be Seattle’s No. 4 starter after being acquired in the off-season in a trade from Tampa Bay. The 27-year-old was 7-12 with a 4.88 ERA for the Rays last season.

Smyly was impressive early in spring training and in his one start for the United States during the World Baseball Classic. But Dipoto said Smyly did not seem the same after returning from the WBC, and further examination revealed the injury.

Dipoto did not blame the WBC for the injury and said the club will be conservative with Smyly because of the long-term future they see with him.

“Injury is injury and it can happen at any time in any place,” Dipoto said. “It’s hard to point the finger back. I’d rather look forward and figure out how we create a solution rather than placing blame.”

Ariel Miranda, who was optioned to triple-A Tacoma on March 25, will take Smyly’s spot in the rotation.

Rangers send Kela to minors

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The Texas Rangers have unexpectedly optioned reliever Keona Kela to triple-A Round Rock. General Manager Jon Daniels says the move wasn’t based on performance.

Without being specific Friday about why Kela was being sent down, Daniels and Manager Jeff Banister both spoke about clubhouse culture multiple times when being questioned about the decision. Both said Kela had an excellent spring and indicated that the move wouldn’t be permanent.

As a rookie in 2015, Kela went 7-5 with a 2.39 ERA in 68 appearances. While dealing with right elbow issues last season, he was limited to 35 games last season while dealing with right elbow issues, and finished 5-1 with a 6.09 ERA.

When asked if Kela broke a team rule, Banister wouldn’t say.

“The family is our organization,” Daniels said. “Sometimes, when things happen in families, you need a little time to address them. That’s what happened here. This does not change how we feel about him short, medium and long term.”

Etc.

The Baltimore Orioles have signed first baseman Ryan Ripken, the son of Cal Ripken Jr., to a minor league contract with the Class A Aberdeen IronBirds. The 23-year-old Ripken was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round of the 2014 Major League draft. He batted .205 over three seasons, hitting three home runs in 145 games. …

Ruben Amaro Sr., a gold glove shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1960s, has died. He was 81. The Phillies said Amaro died Friday in Miami. Amaro spent 58 years in the game, most of them with the Phillies. He won a gold glove for the Phillies in the season of their infamous collapse in 1964. He later became Philadelphia’s first base coach and was on the staff when the Phillies won their first World Series in 1980. He returned to the Phillies organization in 1999 and spent eight years as a minor league coordinator, scouting and player development advisor, and Gulf Coast League manager. His final position in the game was as a scout for the Houston Astros from 2010 to 2016. His son, Ruben Amaro Jr., was an assistant general manager and GM for the Phillies from 1999 to 2015. He’s now the first base coach for the Boston Red Sox.

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