King Felix Will Return To Throne

Felix Hernandez will likely miss two or three starts after an MRI revealed a muscle strain inside his right elbow and forearm - an injury that could have been much worse, to the delight of the Seattle Mariners and their fans.

The 21-year-old righty has been advised not to throw for five days before playing catch. It's a good thing manager Mike Hargrove took him out of Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins when he did, because doctors told him that if he would've continued to pitch with the strain, he could have stressed the elbow so severely he would have required elbow-ligament replacement surgery.

Hargrove said after Hernandez resumes throwing, he will have two bullpen sessions before he returns to the rotation, likely around the first week of May.

Hernandez had allowed only four hits over 17 scoreless innings - including a one-hitter in Boston last week - up until Wednesday night, when he allowed three runs (1 earned), walked two and threw a wild pitch that scored a run, before he waved trainers out to the mound to remove him from the game.

Righty Brandon Morrow could be Hernandez's replacement in the rotation. The hard-throwing 22-year-old who was the fifth overall choice in last June's draft, was destined to be a member of Seattle's rotation soon, anyway.

Mostly a starter through last spring at the University of California, Morrow hasn't appeared in a game since Saturday and has thrown just three innings this month.

AAA Tacoma reliever Eric O'Flaherty, a lefty, could be the bullpen replacement for Morrow if the rookie does take Hernandez's place.

[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]