Colt Emerson's sudden injury exposes a Mariners roster hanging by a thread

The last thing the Seattle Mariners needed on Monday was an injury to Colt Emerson, and not just because he's been a sensation since his call-up in May. He was the only true shortstop they had left on the 26-man roster.

Too bad, apparently. Emerson was in the original starting lineup at short ahead of the Mariners' showdown with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, but was scratched about an hour before first pitch. Per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, the 20-year-old has a tight back.

Starting at shortstop in his place? Cole Young. He's been everything the Mariners could have hoped for and more at second base, and he did start 238 games at short in the minors. But if he was ever going to make his first start at short in the majors, he presumably would have preferred more than an hour's notice.

It could have been worse. After going into wait-and-see mode on Saturday and Sunday after J.P. Crawford took a Framber Valdez fastball off the hand on Friday, he went on the injured list on Monday with a contusion. Ryan Bliss is up from Tacoma to take his spot, and is now spelling Young at second.

If Bliss hadn't come up, it's hard to know what the Mariners would have done upon finding out that Emerson wasn't good to go on Monday. They still could have moved Young to short, but second would have had to be manned by… Rob Refsnyder, we guess? Not ideal, given that he's only a second baseman if you get your information from Reacher.

Mariners will have to make do with an infield skeleton crew until injuries heal

Remember when Julio Rodríguez was a late scratch last May with [Gasp!] a tight back. He was back in the lineup literally the next day, and he went on to miss just one other game all year.

It's possible that Emerson will make a similarly quick recovery, though that is obviously the best-case scenario. Because if he also has to go on the injured list, that would put him, Crawford and Brendan Donovan all on there at the same time. The result could mean more exposure to Leo Rivas, who was the worst hitter in baseball when he was with the Mariners earlier this season.

On the plus side, Crawford shouldn't be out for too long and Donovan is expected to return sometime this month. Cal Raleigh, meanwhile, is already on a rehab assignment. As such, the infield injuries don't necessarily need to have Jerry Dipoto working the phones. Patience is the only virtue he needs.

Yet given how this season has already defied expectations in a bad way, it's OK to be nervous about even a temporary disruption being felt later. Should the Mariners lose their slim 1.5-game lead in the AL West, we're going to remember that time when the injury bug swallowed three infielders at once.

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