Mariners shut down reigning AL ROY Lewis with bone bruise in knee
Outfielder Kyle Lewis' frustrating sophomore season has come to an early end.
The Seattle Mariners shut down the reigning AL Rookie of the Year for the remainder of the 2021 campaign due to a second bone bruise in his right knee, according to the Seattle Times' Ryan Divish.
"He’s gonna shut it down," manager Scott Servais said Tuesday. "He’s got to get that knee to calm down and that bone bruise to calm down. I think everything’s going to be perfectly fine, but that’s the decision I think we’ve come to here."
Lewis had been ramping up activities and was expected to return near the end of the season before this setback.
The 26-year-old opened the year on the 10-day injured list with an initial bone bruise in his right knee and later underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in early June. The nagging knee ailment has limited him to 36 games where he's hit .246/.333/.392 with five homers.
The disappointing move follows a promising rookie campaign where Lewis blasted 11 home runs while slashing .262/.364/.437 over 58 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Mariners' goal is to have him ready to contribute in 2022.
"You just know how electric that bat is and what kind of player he is," Servais said. "We saw it last year. It hurts knowing he’s not in there. But nobody feels worse about it than he does.
"I know Kyle and how he’s wired, his work ethic, and how much he loves being a part of what we’ve got going on here. He’s going to be a big part of this going forward. It’s just not going to happen this year."