Mariners place King Felix on IL with shoulder strain

Felix Hernandez's woeful season continues to get worse.

The Seattle Mariners placed Hernandez on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a right shoulder strain, barely 24 hours after yet another rough outing for the former Cy Young winner.

Hernandez, whose slow descent from ace status has been well chronicled over the last few seasons, was shelled by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Although he recorded three strikeouts - including the 2,500th of his career - Hernandez allowed a season-high seven earned runs in only 2 1/3 innings while issuing three walks.

Acting Mariners manager Manny Acta told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times postgame that Mariners coaches were concerned after Hernandez "didn't warm up very well." Hernandez then revealed Sunday that he felt pinching in his shoulder near the end of his brief outing.

"(My shoulder) just doesn't feel right," he said, according to Divish.

Hernandez, 33, now sports career-worst numbers in ERA (6.52), FIP (5.30), and WHIP (1.50). If he had enough innings to qualify for the leaderboard, his ERA would rank as the second-highest in the AL, behind only Matt Harvey. Hernandez's 4.96 FIP since 2016 is the seventh-worst in the majors over that span.

The Mariners are paying Hernandez $27 million this season - the final year of a $175-million contract that was the largest ever given to a pitcher when signed - and they hold a conditional $1-million club option on him in 2020, according to Cot's Contracts.

Seattle recalled right-hander Dan Altavilla from Double-A Arkansas and also selected right-hander Parker Markel from Triple-A Tacoma in a pair of corresponding roster moves. Outfielder Braden Bishop was optioned to Tacoma following Saturday's game.