By Ryan Divish

The Seattle Times

OAKLAND, Calif. — Less than 12 hours earlier, James Paxton’s swollen left forearm ached so much that he couldn’t put on his own watch on his right hand. But as he sat in the clubhouse before Wednesday’s game, he ate his breakfast with his left hand and changed clothing without showing the slightest grimace.

If not for the medicated wrap around the forearm, a person might not have known that he’d exited Tuesday’s night’s game in the first inning after taking a 96-mph off the outside of his forearm, near his elbow. Usually the second day after that sort of injury isn’t enjoyable, but Paxton didn’t have that issue.

“It’s actually better today,” he said. “Last night, I couldn’t really use my wrist or my fingers too much. But today, as you can see, I’m kind of moving it a little bit better. It’s gotten better.”

Paxton said he had to brush his teeth his right hand after the game, but was able to brush his teeth with his left hand the following morning.

“Much better at brushing my teeth with my left hand,” he joked.

The increased range of motion is a good sign for his recovery being expedited.

“There’s still some swelling in there,” Paxton said. “It’s just getting that swelling out of there and going from there. Lots of ice, at some point some strength stuff to push that swelling out of there, elevation, basically whatever these guys tell me to do.”

Still, the Mariners had to place him on the 10-day disabled list and recall right-hander Christian Bergman to provide some bullpen depth after Felix Hernandez pitched 5 2/3 innings in relief.

“Hopefully, he can come back here and pick up a ball in a couple of days and go from there,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s just a matter of getting it calmed down and getting the swelling out.”

If Paxton is able to start throwing in a few days, there wouldn’t be a need for him to go out on a rehab start or extend the DL stint.

“That’s what we are hopeful for that he would be back and ready to go in 10-12 days,” Servais said. “No timeline. We have to wait and see how it is and when he can get a ball in his hand. Right now, we are on hold.”

Servais wouldn’t officially announce that Hernandez would replace Paxton in the rotation, but did admit: “Right now, he would be our best option.”

Hernandez’s first-ever big league relief appearance after 398 starts was actually better than expected. He pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

“He knew as soon Pax got hit that he was the guy that needed to come in and compete and give us a shot,” Servais said. “And he did exactly that. I thought it was really key that he threw strikes last night, which you have to do against this team. He got ahead in the count. His stuff was good. I thought he competed very well. He did exactly what we needed him to do. He gave us a chance to win.”