Leo

Rivas

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.

Donovan exited Saturday’s game with leg discomfort, and he unsurprisingly will miss at least one more contest. Luke Raley is moving up to the leadoff spot with Donovan out, and Leo Rivas will handle third base and hit ninth.

The Mariners didn’t have much to say about the injury after the game. Donovan left in the seventh inning after his leg came down awkwardly on the first-base bag while trying to leg out a grounder. If Donovan is unavailable Saturday, the Mariners would likely start utility specialist Leo Rivas at third base. An extended absence could potentially open the door for top prospect Colt Emerson, who has been playing third base down at Triple-A Tacoma.

The 22-year-old second baseman is coming off of a very impressive Cactus League season. He’s expected to function in the strong side of a platoon for the M’s, though that role could expand while J.P. Crawford is shelved, which could allow him to carve out some deep league fantasy value. He’s the full alignment that manager Dan Wilson will send out on Opening Day: Brendan Donovan (3B), Cal Raleigh (C), Julio Rodriguez (CF), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Luke Raley (RF), Dominic Canzone (DH), Cole Young (2B) and Leo Rivas (SS).

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.

With J.P. Crawford (shoulder) uncertain for next week’s season opener, it could very well be Rivas starting at shortstop in his place. Any sort of extended absence by Crawford would kick the door wide open for top prospect Colt Emerson to break camp in the big leagues since he would offer a much higher offensive ceiling.

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.

Crawford had an MRI that came back clean, but the Mariners “want to make sure they are treating it properly.” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said his concern level isn’t high, but they want to “do the right thing now, so he’s not battling every couple of weeks feeling uncomfortable.” That almost certainly means that Crawford will start the season on the IL, which means Leo Rivas could start the season at shortstop until Colt Emerson is ready.

Naylor, who is batting .341 (15-for-44) with three homers this postseason, has been moved up in Seattle’s lineup with Jorge Polanco dropped to the cleanup spot as they attempt to make the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 49-year history. The only other significant change involves Victor Robles in right field in place of Dominic Canzone. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Naylor (1B), Polanco (DH), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Leo Rivas (2B) and Robles (RF).

Rivas started in Game 4 with Victor Robles shifting to the bench and that’s the same alignment that the M’s will use against Kevin Gausman on Friday evening. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Dominic Canzone (RF) and Rivas (2B).