On the Shelf : Mariners Won’t Rush Saugus’ Salkeld, Who Is Sidelined by Shoulder Injury

Roger Salkeld, the Seattle Mariners’ top pitching prospect, watched last week’s All-Star game alone in his motel room in Tempe, Ariz.

The former Saugus High star, who expected to make his major league debut this spring, says it has been a lonely season resting an ailing right shoulder.

Two weeks after the start of spring training, Salkeld reluctantly notified the coaching staff of his injury.

“It got to the point where I couldn’t pitch another ball,” said Salkeld, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who had impressed Mariner coaches by consistently throwing his fastball in the 90-m.p.h range. “It had been bothering me earlier, but I didn’t say anything because you don’t make the team from the training room.”

Salkeld, 21, says it was a rookie mistake to play hurt, and he would not make the same decision again.

Initially, team officials did not think the pain was serious. Salkeld, a first-round selection in the 1989 amateur draft, was sent to rookie league camp this March for rehabilitation. A month later, he was assigned to the Mariners’ triple-A squad in Calgary.

The soreness persisted, however, and Salkeld went to Seattle for tests, which were negative. Subsequent tests in Los Angeles also turned up nothing.

Frustrated at the inconclusive findings, Salkeld went to see Dr. Frank Jobe last month at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Inglewood. Jobe had treated Salkeld for an ankle injury two years ago.

After two examinations, Jobe told Salkeld it appeared he had calcium buildup in his shoulder and ordered four weeks of rest. Salkeld will be re-examined Monday. The extent of the problem is unknown, but Salkeld is sidelined for the season.

Proper rest can often solve the problem, but if not, surgery is required, according Dr. Ronald Glousman of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic.

Mariner officials are not rushing Salkeld.

“You couldn’t expect more from a high school kid than what Roger has done,” said Jim Beattie, Seattle’s minor league director. “At this point, we’re not concerned his injury is career threatening. It appears it will only set him back about one year.”

The setback is the first in what has been a storybook baseball career for Salkeld.

At Saugus, the right-handed pitcher had a 30-7 record, with 404 strikeouts in 266 innings. He led the Centurions to the Southern Section Division 3-A title game as a senior and was the division’s player of the year that season after going 13-1.

The Mariners made Salkeld the third player selected in the 1989 draft. He received a $225,000 signing bonus, which at the time was the largest awarded a Seattle draft pick, exceeding the $160,000 Ken Griffey Jr. received in 1987. Griffey was selected the most valuable player at last week’s All-Star game.

Salkeld’s rise toward the major leagues was quick and well planned. Beattie said Seattle wanted to move him around as little as possible until he was ready to join the Mariners.

He spent his first season playing in the short-season league in Bellingham, Wash., where he pitched in eight games and finished with a record of 2-2.

Salkeld started the 1990 season on the disabled list because of a strained right ankle. He was activated in April and sent to the team’s Class-A squad in San Bernardino. Despite his late start, he was selected to play in the California League All-Star game that June. He finished the season 11-5 with 167 strikeouts.

He spent most of last year in Jacksonville, Fla., Seattle’s double-A team, and went 8-8, before joining Calgary for the playoffs.

Mariner coaches had been hoping their star rookie could put new life into Seattle’s pitching staff, which has the highest earned-run average in the major leagues at 4.82.

“Roger probably would have been in the big leagues this season,” Beattie said. “He’s been excellent so far.”

Salkeld, whose grandfather, William Salkeld, played eight years in the big leagues, was the youngest player in spring training camp this season. He performed well in three appearances before pulling himself off the mound.

“I knew something was wrong when my fastball dropped to 85 m.p.h.,” Salkeld said. “My strength definitely slipped.

“It has been a very disappointing time for me because I’ve never had a pitching injury before. But I know I’m young and have a lot to look forward to. I can’t say I’m not in a hurry to get back in the game, though.”

While awaiting word on whether he will need surgery, Salkeld spends his days in a motel near the team’s rookie league camp in Tempe. He stretches in the training room every morning and then plays a round of golf. The rest of the time he watches television.

“I’m definitely bored,” he said. “I’d rather be playing baseball.”