Mariners Updates: Latest on J.P. Crawford’s shoulder; Julio, Naylor back

The Seattle Mariners provided an update Wednesday morning on the status of starting shortstop J.P. Crawford, who traveled to Texas the day prior to have a lingering shoulder issue looked at.

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The Mariners didn’t seem too concerned when Crawford left to see Dr. Keith Meister, and Meister’s assessment was in line with what M’s general manager Justin Hollander said Tuesday, according to manager Dan Wilson.

“J.P. saw the doc yesterday. Everything seemed to be pretty congruent with what we talked about here,” Wilson said. “He was recommended an injection, so he did get that (Tuesday). He’ll be down for a couple of days and then start ramping back up. So we’re excited to hear about as good of news as possible.”

The injection Crawford received was a cortisone shot, per Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports.

The big question is whether Crawford will be ready for the Mariners’ regular season opener next Thursday, March 26 in Seattle, considering he’s had just 18 plate appearances over seven games in Cactus League play this spring.

“Right now, too early to tell,” Wilson said about whether Crawford will be able to play on opening day or need to start the season on the injured list. “We’re going to wait to make any decisions until we see how things roll from here. But we’re hoping he’s down these couple of days, and then he’ll get back to work and we’ll see where we’re at.”

A couple big returns

While Crawford will continue to be absent from the lineup for at least a few more days, the Mariners do have some of their bigger names back in the lineup Wednesday for the first time in several weeks.

First baseman Josh Naylor is back at first base and hitting second in his first game back since serving as captain for Canada in the World Baseball Classic. Naylor, who helped his home country reach the quarterfinals for the first time ever, was scratched from the M’s lineup Tuesday.

Center fielder Julio Rodríguez is also making his Cactus League return Wednesday. He played in the WBC for the Dominican Republic, including their semifinal loss to the USA on Sunday in Miami.

Here’s the full lineup for Tuesday’s 1:10 p.m. game against the Milwaukee Brewers, which will be live beginning with a quick pregame at 1 p.m. on the Seattle Sports app.

Taking on the Brew Crew in Peoria. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/4uTpYswbBr

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 18, 2026

The Mariners should have the rest of their players back from the WBC in the coming days. Outfielder Dominic Canzone was on the Italy squad that was knocked out in the semifinals by Venezuela on Monday. Relief pitcher Eduard Bazardo, who had a pair of perfect outings in both the semifinals and championship game, was on the Venezuela team along with left-hander Jhonathan Díaz. And catcher Cal Raleigh was with the USA team that fell to Venezuela in the title game Tuesday.

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