J.P.

Crawford

Crawford hit a rare left-on-left homer off MacKenzie Gore to score Mitch Garver and extend Seattle’s lead to 3-0. The 31-year-old showed some power potential back in 2024, but his .340 on-base percentage — while on the lower side — is fairly representative of what type of hitter Crawford is. He did also draw a walk, and his .383 on-base percentage in 2026 is indicative of his skill set, as well.

Crawford lashed a single with the bases loaded to give him his third RBI of the night and the Mariners a comeback win. The 31-year-old hit at the top of the lineup with Brendan Donovan (illness) unavailable, although Donovan did appear as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and drew a walk. Crawford has hit .217/.419/.261 since coming off the injured list last week.

Donovan had been feeling a bit under the weather so the Mariners thought it wise to give him the night off. Leo Rivas will start in his place at third base and bat ninth while J.P. Crawford serves as the M’s leadoff hitter against Tatsuya Imai and the Astros on Friday evening in Seattle.

Crawford will likely make his season debut on Friday after missing most of spring training with a shoulder injury. With Brendan Donovan now stapled to the leadoff spot, it will be hard to justify Crawford in shallow mixed leagues between the limited homer and stolen base totals and a lower lineup spot. Still, Crawford’s a valuable player for the Mariners and it’s great news that he only missed minimal time on the injured list.

The long-term agreement, first reported earlier Tuesday, is now official. Emerson is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball and is expected to be a key piece of Seattle’s roster through at least 2033. The 20-year-old prodigy’s combination of bat-to-ball skills and emerging power makes it easy to envision him as an impactful fantasy contributor in the near future. There has been no indication the Mariners plan to accelerate his timeline at Triple-A this season, but his arrival as the club’s shortstop of the future feels almost inevitable, especially since J.P. Crawford hitting free agency at the end of the year.

Crawford is progressing towards a quick return to Seattle’s lineup after opening the season on the shelf with shoulder inflammation. He’ll likely require a handful of rehab contests to get back up to speed but should be ready to make his season debut later this week.

Crawford is currently on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation, and the belief is that it’ll be a short stint for the 31-year-old. He should return to starting at shortstop in the next few weeks — if not sooner — if there’s no setback.

Crawford could return as soon as his 10 days are up. In the meantime, the Mariners will primarily use Leo Rivas at shortstop, though they do also have the option of sliding Cole Young over and playing Ryan Bliss at second base. Bliss figures to be sent down once Crawford is activated.

The Mariners are still not ruling out Crawford for Opening Day, which means that they don’t see this as a long-term injury. Even though we shouldn’t be drafting Crawford in fantasy leagues, the nature of the injury also means it’s less likely that the Mariners will use Colt Emerson at shortstop if it’s only going to be for a couple of weeks. That could mean Leo Rivas is the starting shortstop for Seattle to open the season.

Emerson took Padres veteran starter Germán Márquez deep in the third inning for his second round-tripper in his last three games. He also doubled in the ninth inning, just for good measure. With starting shortstop J.P. Crawford (shoulder) potentially headed for the injured list, the door remains slightly ajar for Seattle’s top prospect to break camp in the majors. The most likely scenario involves turning to utility infielder Leo Rivas as a temporary stopgap, but if Crawford is facing an extended absence, it would make sense for Emerson to take the reins instead. The 20-year-old prodigy possesses outstanding bat-to-ball skills and took a significant step forward in the power department last year, launching 16 homers in 130 games across three levels to finish the season at Triple-A. He’s at least worthy of a speculative late-round pick in all fantasy drafts.