J.P.

Crawford

Crawford is day-to-day with left wrist soreness. It’ll be Colt Emerson drawing another start at shortstop in his absence.

Crawford was scratched before Monday’s game against the Reds, but the Mariners didn’t give a reason at the time. Colt Emerson was inserted into the lineup in his place.

There’s no word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be Colt Emerson drawing the start at shortstop on his 21st birthday. There should be an additional update on his status shortly, especially if he’s dealing with an injury-related issue.

Emerson has hit .195 (30-for-154) with seven homers, 20 RBI and three steals in 48 games since being called up back in mid-May. The most alarming recent trend for him at the dish is that he has zero extra-base hits since homering back on June 26. The 21-year-old prodigy has an extremely bright future ahead of him, but he’s simply not ready to be an impactful fantasy contributor as he acclimates to everyday life in the big leagues. It’ll be veteran J.P. Crawford at shortstop on Monday night.

J.P. Crawford has been dropped to sixth. The Mariners are facing a left-hander in Joey Cantillo tonight, so this might not be a full-time change. The Mariners have had big problems with lefties this season, and though Arozarena is a righty, he, like most of the rest of the team, has performed better against righties this year (.828 OPS to .738). Arozarena spent a chunk of last season as a leadoff man, but he was dropped to the middle of the order this year with newcomer Brandon Donovan expected to leadoff regularly.

As expected, Crawford returns to Seattle’s lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles. The 31-year-old impending free agent wound up requiring a minimum stay on the injured list with a right hand contusion. He’ll split time with top prospect Colt Emerson at shortstop and could even wind up seeing time at third base over the final few months of the year.

Crawford has been taking ground balls at third base exclusively during his recovery from a right-hand contusion, and that’s where he’s likely to see the bulk of his action upon his return. The 31-year-old infielder has hit .228/.356/.409 with 10 homers and 23 RBI over 233 plate appearances on the season.

Crawford and the Mariners are still awaiting the results of that scan. The 31-year-old was placed on the injured list with a contusion on his right hand prior to Monday’s game against Baltimore, and while some swelling has subsided, he still can’t grip a bat this point. How long Crawford will be out will at least in part be determined by the results of that imaging.

Crawford missed two games over the weekend after being hit by a pitch by Framber Valdez on Friday. The shortstop had been heating up at the plate, so this is unfortunate timing, but all x-rays came back negative, so it should be a minimum stint on the injured list. Colt Emerson figures to continue to start at shortstop with Ryan Bliss and Patrick Wisdom getting reps at third base.

Crawford was drilled on the hand by Framber Valdez on Friday night and has now missed each of the next two games. While X-rays came back negative for any fractures, he’s still dealing with a bit of pain and swelling in his hand. Colt Emerson will once again slide over and cover shortstop while Patrick Wisdom will start at third base and bat seventh for the M’s.