J.P. Crawford helping Mariners rookie take his spot
Published 10:00 am Friday, May 22, 2026
The scene on Monday night, in this era of choreographed home-run celebrations, did not seem all that unusual.
After Seattle Mariners rookie Colt Emerson crushed a home run for his first major-league hit, his new teammates poured out of the dugout, ready to award him the ceremonial trident.
Here’s what was different: The player holding the trident, hopping up and down in excitement, was J.P. Crawford.
The Mariners’ longest-tenured player. The shortstop who holds the franchise record for most games played at the position. A potential free agent who knows he soon will cede his position to Emerson, the rookie he was honoring.
The moment in which Crawford handed Emerson the trident seemed almost a symbolic passing of the torch. After the game, Crawford and first baseman Josh Naylor also gave Emerson his first televised Gatorade bath.
Those, however, were just gestures.
The true reflection of Crawford’s professionalism, the more tangible act of his unselfishness, occurred in manager Dan Wilson’s office the day before.
After learning of Emerson’s promotion from Triple-A Tacoma for his major-league debut, Crawford volunteered to Wilson that he was willing to move to third base.
Accomplished shortstops don’t do that. Not when they’ve been a huge part of their team’s success for so long. Certainly not in their free-agent years.
Crawford, 31, isn’t like most players.
“I’m willing to help this team and I want to be a Mariner for life, right?” he said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I think this is the best way to do that.”
Whether the Mariners reciprocate his loyalty this offseason remains to be seen. So, for that matter, does the question of when Crawford will end up at third base, if at all.
Third was his position when he broke in with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017. With the Mariners, who acquired him before 2019, he has played short exclusively. But on Wednesday, he again started taking grounders at third, potentially laying the foundation for a position swap with Emerson in the days ahead.
“The time has come now and there’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with that,” Crawford said. “But I’m all on board for whatever comes.”
The situation is fluid. Brendan Donovan, who has played only third since joining the Mariners but is capable of manning other positions, is expected to be out at least a few more weeks with a left groin strain. The Mariners don’t know how quickly Crawford will grow comfortable at third. They also don’t know how they might divvy up at-bats once Donovan is healthy if Emerson is at short and Crawford takes to third.
Crawford, though, is eager for the challenge, believing third base actually might suit him best.
“I really like it over there,” he said. “I’m really excited to see where this goes.”
Perhaps Crawford is merely demonstrating self-awareness. A Gold Glove winner in 2020, his defensive metrics at short are now among the worst in the league. Emerson, 20, is less experienced but a gifted defender, a former first-round pick who signed an eight-year, $95 million extension before even making his major-league debut.
Still, as Mariners general manager Justin Hollander puts it, Crawford is “walking the walk” as he completes his own five-year, $51 million deal. True, showing proficiency at third might enhance Crawford’s value as a free agent. But the in-season change also could disrupt him at a time when his wRC+ (an advanced offensive metric referenced by many club executives) is 19 percent above league average.
“Players sometimes if they’re asked to go do it will begrudgingly accept a role maybe they don’t love because it’s the right thing,” Hollander said. “Very few guys volunteer, especially in a free-agent year, to go play a position they’ve never played if it will help the team win.”
Crawford is putting the team first in other ways as well. On Thursday, an off-day for the Mariners in Kansas City, he and Naylor took Emerson shopping. Emerson, who said he idolized Crawford coming out of the 2023 draft, described him as extremely helpful, willing to answer any questions, “a big help in my development.”
And an inspiration, too.
Emerson said he has studied Crawford’s play at shortstop, admired how loose and free-flowing he is in the field. He is trying to model his game after his older teammate’s, become more athletic, play more relaxed, “do what the ball’s asking you to do.”
Not once, Emerson said, has Crawford shown him ill will.
“That’s not who he is,” Emerson said. “Anybody that’s ever met him, he’s a chill guy. He just wants to win.
“If I’m going to come in and help the team win, there’s no resentment, no competing for anything. Our goal is the World Series. There’s no animosity when you’re trying to win the World Series.”
Crawford, who last season bestowed similar attention upon another rookie, second baseman Cole Young, said of Emerson, “I wish nothing but the best for him, for real. I’m treating him like he’s my son, so I got two sons on the team now” – Young being the other – “which is really cool. I can’t wait to see them grow and turn into great ballplayers.”
How did Crawford, who with his wife, Kathy, has a one-year-old daughter, Korra, develop such a generosity of spirit?
“I think it’s always been there,” he said. “I’m just a genuine human being. I give my love to everyone.”
He recalls being in Emerson’s position, dealing with the pressure of being a young major leaguer, and the pressure of a new contract. And he recalls his first two seasons with the Phillies, and how he would have benefited from the kind of mentoring he is trying to provide.
“It was just a different time,” Crawford said. “I really didn’t have anyone that really took me under their wing, that took me out shopping, that gave me that veteran presence. So, I was kind of in a shell over there.
“Then when I got traded over here, they had Dee Gordon, Kyle Seager, vets who had been here for a long time. They really showed me what it meant to be a vet, just be an older presence that takes care of the young guys, how it should be. They made me feel like I was a big leaguer. They made me feel like I belonged. And it changed my career. They really changed my career.
“I wouldn’t be in the spot (I am) without those two. So, I thank them for everything. And when it became my turn now that I’m in their shoes, I want to do that – and do more. I feel like the young players deserve that. We want to make ‘em feel like they belong.”
The Mariners will miss such leadership if he departs. However, it’s unclear how Crawford might fit on the team’s 2027 roster. Donovan, in his last year of club control, could be the primary third baseman. Or, Donovan could be the primary replacement in left field for Randy Arozarena, another potential free agent. In that scenario Crawford could play third.
On Sunday, after Crawford met with Wilson, his agent, Nick Chanock, called Hollander to reiterate the player’s desire to stay in Seattle.
Hollander said that “absolutely” is possible. In a free-agent market thin on position players, the Mariners might view Crawford as one of the most attractive options.
“Obviously we’ll talk about it after the season and see how it goes,” Hollander said. “But he wants to be here and there’s definitely a place for him.”
For his part, Crawford isn’t just spewing platitudes when he says he wants to be a Mariner for life. He is grateful for the fans’ unyielding support during his eight seasons in Seattle. He said he owes the city everything, and believes it deserves a World Series.
In their 50 years of existence, the Mariners have yet to appear in a Series, much less win one. Emerson, in Crawford’s estimation, can help the team achieve that goal.
“I love the kid. He works hard. And he cares stupid about the game,” Crawford said. “It’s really cool to see.”
Almost as cool as a veteran embracing a rookie whose arrival might force him not just to change positions, but also leave a place he cherishes, the only place he wants to call home.
“J.P. is a good person,” Hollander said. “I don’t know a better way of framing it. I don’t know a better compliment I can give him.”
