Why is Julio Rodriguez not playing? Mariners superstar scratched from lineup vs Athletics

The Seattle Mariners scratched Julio Rodriguez from the lineup against the Oakland Athletics at the last minute, which generated a lot of dismay. The team announced that he was removed from the lineup due to foot soreness. This seemingly comes out of nowhere as there was no indication this was an issue. Hopefully this will be a short-term injury.

He has been one of the best offensive players in baseball over the last few weeks, and this new injury could affect the trend negatively. Thanks to his offensive explosion, the Mariners have taken the American League West lead and now need to hold onto it. Without Rodriguez at 100 percent, that task becomes a lot more difficult.

The Seattle Mariners provided the official reason for his absence on Twitter.

"Julio Rodríguez was scratched from tonight's lineup with left foot soreness" - Seattle Mariners

Rodriguez has quickly become the face of the Mariners franchise because of his on-field excellence and his off-field personality.

He showcased his brilliant personality and wish to constantly improve in this interview shared to Twitter by Chris Egan.

"Rodríguez now leads the American League with 153 hits and 45 hits during August. @JRODshow44 says there's always room to improve, he says Ichiro told him he had 56 hits in one month" - Chris Egan

You could do a lot worse than learning from Ichiro Suzuki.

The Seattle Mariners need Julio Rodriguez playing as much as possible over the next month

Holding the AL West crown against the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will take a herculean effort. And that is with Julio Rodriguez at full health. Without him, even making the playoffs feels like a longshot, let alone going on a deep run.

While his pace of play has been extremely high as of late, even a average Rodriguez is the leader the Mariners need.