AL West Notes: Cano, Middleton, A’s, Maxwell, Astros

The Mariners “indicated” that they wouldn’t be looking for an external candidate to replace Robinson Cano at second base, the Tacoma News Tribune’s TJ Cotterill writes.  This would leave Seattle with internal options like Andrew Romine, Taylor Motter, and Gordon Beckham at the keystone, since center fielder Dee Gordon doesn’t appear to be under consideration for a move back to his former position.  In my view, the Mariners could re-assess their plans once they have a clearer idea of how much time Cano will miss, as we’re still just hours removed from the star second baseman suffering a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch in today’s game.

More rumblings from around the AL West…

• Angels right-hander Keynan Middleton left today’s game after 12 pitches due to what the club termed as elbow discomfort.  Middleton will undergo an MRI tomorrow.  Today’s outing was Middleton’s third appearance since returning from a 10-day DL stint for inflammation in that same elbow.  The 24-year-old closer has posted good results when healthy (2.04 ERA and an 8.25 K/9 in 17 2/3 IP), and in his absence, Blake Parker and Jim Johnson figure to get the bulk of save opportunities for the Halos.  Be sure to follow @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter site) for all the latest details on the ninth-inning situation for all 30 teams around baseball.
• Because Bruce Maxwell hasn’t yet been sentenced following his plea agreement for a change of disorderly conduct, Canadian immigration laws will prevent Maxwell from joining the Athletics during their upcoming four-game series in Toronto, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  Maxwell will have to be demoted at some point before Thursday’s series opener if the A’s are to have a backup behind Jonathan Lucroy.  Slusser suggests that prospect Beau Taylor (off to a hot start at Triple-A) could be considered even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster, though Josh Phegley could also be called up if Oakland didn’t want to make another transaction to clear room for Taylor.
• Astros GM Jeff Luhnow admitted that “Obviously, you have to think about potentially doing something” to address some struggling hitters on Houston’s roster, though Luhnow tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle that he still has faith in the “proven track records” of veterans like Evan Gattis or Jake Marisnick.  In regards to Marisnick, for instance, Luhnow mentioned that his excellent defense makes him an important figure for the team.  This gives Marisnick more value than another internal option like top prospect J.D. Davis, who is tearing up Triple-A pitching but is limited to just left field.