Watch: M's OF overcome with emotion describing self-inflicted injury

Seattle Mariners left fielder Jarred Kelenic Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Mariners OF overcome with emotion describing self-inflicted injury

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 7/20/23

Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic landed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a left foot fracture.

The 24-year-old suffered the injury during the Mariners' loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night after striking out and taking his frustration out on a water cooler.

Kelenic broke the foot kicking a water cooler last night after he struck out.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023

Kelenic met with reporters on Thursday afternoon to describe the situation and was overcome with emotion. He said that he took "full responsibility" for the incident and felt "terrible," especially for his teammates.

Jarred Kelenic was so upset with the injury. That he couldn’t speak for a few minutes. He said he let his teammates down. pic.twitter.com/aSnY792R2K
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023

Part of Kelenic’s opening comments pic.twitter.com/ycR8dM4qbF
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 20, 2023

The loss of Kelenic's bat is crushing for Seattle as the M's try to stay in the AL wild-card race. Wednesday's defeat dropped the Mariners below .500 at 47-48, and they are now 5.5 games behind the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays (who are both 53-43) for the final playoff spot in the junior circuit.

A former first-round draft pick, Kelenic has already set career highs in runs scored (43), hits (82), doubles (24), RBI (45) and stolen bases (12) through 90 games in 2023. Kelenic leads the team in doubles and slugging percentage (.439), while his OPS (.759) is second on squad.

According to an Associated Press, ESPN and Reuters report, Seattle manager Scott Servais said the power hitter will be out an extended period of time, but the organization doesn't think he'll need surgery.

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