Mariners won’t re-sign longtime SS J.P. Crawford, per reports

The Seattle Mariners have informed longtime shortstop J.P. Crawford they will not re-sign him this offseason, according to multiple reports.

The Seattle Times first reported the news.

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Crawford was the longest-tenured player on the team last season and is the longest-tenured shortstop in franchise history, having spent the past eight seasons in a Mariners uniform.

In 974 games with Seattle, he slashed .247/.340/.367 with 78 homers, 176 doubles, 384 RBIs and 494 runs scored while producing 21.7 bWAR. Crawford won an American League Gold Glove in 2020, joining Omar Vizquel as the only shortstops in franchise history to win the award, and finished 16th in AL MVP voting in 2023.

Among primary shortstops, Crawford is first in franchise history in games played and walks (476), and second only to Alex Rodriguez in hits, doubles, homers, RBIs, runs scored and bWAR. He’s also seventh in walks, ninth in bWAR and 10th in games played among players at any position.

The Mariners acquired Crawford in December 2018 trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that marked the start of their rebuild heading into the 2019 season. He signed a five-year, $51 million contract with the team at the start of 2022 that ran through this past season. He will turn 32 years old in January.

During an interview with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob in March 2024, Crawford credited the trade from Philadelphia to Seattle for saving his career.

He was named one of the 50 greatest players in franchise history in August.

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In his final game with Seattle this season, Crawford was removed from the game in the fifth inning for a defensive replacement and received a standing ovation from the fans at T-Mobile Park.

While it was expected that the Mariners would move on from Crawford this offseason, the veteran shortstop had expressed his desire to remain in the Pacific Northwest multiple times this year.

“Hopefully I’m back,” Crawford said after the Mariners’ second-to-last game of the season on Sept. 26. “Seattle’s my home. I started my life here and there is nowhere else I’d rather play. This is my home.”

With the Mariners moving on from Crawford, that could set up promising youngster Colt Emerson to take over at shortstop. The 21-year-old Emerson, who signed an 8-year, $95 million contract extension with the team earlier this year before playing in a big-league game, was one of baseball’s top prospects heading into this season but struggled in his first year in the majors after some initial success. In 69 games, he had a .190/.246/.335 slash line with eight homers, six doubles, 15 walks and 83 strikeouts.

Emerson’s season was cut short when he was placed on the injured list Aug. 14 with a season-ending left wrist injury that required surgery. However, the Mariners had intended to option him to the minors before learning the severity of the wrist issue.

Seattle could also look to bring in another shortstop this offseason to allow Emerson more time in the minors or slide him over to third base, which is where he began playing when he was called up to the majors in ’26. However, the free-agent shortstop market is thin, with Crawford being one of the top options available.

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