J.P. Crawford's shoulder has Mariners fans dreaming of top prospect at shortstop

One wouldn't describe the Seattle Mariners' 2026 spring training as boring, but it had definitely been drama-free through the first two weeks. But nothing shakes things up like an injury scare, and the Mariners have one thanks to J.P. Crawford's sore right shoulder.

The official company line is that it's nothing serious. It goes in tandem with reports that the veteran shortstop had something similar last spring, and that the hope is he'll be playing Cactus League games again next week.

What we have here is an explanation for why Crawford has appeared in only one game so far. And if it is true that this is no different from the issue he had with the same shoulder last spring, the fact that he went on to play 157 games would seem to bode well.

Even so, the very concept of an injured shortstop is bound to bring a name to the tip of Mariners fans' tongues: Colt Emerson.

J.P. Crawford's sore shoulder doesn't mean it's time for the Mariners to install Colt Emerson at shortstop… yet

Emerson is, of course, also a shortstop. And not just any shortstop. He's clearly the shortstop of the future in Seattle, specifically for after Crawford's contract expires at the end of the coming season.

This wasn't always going to be the case, as Jerry Dipoto didn't expect Emerson to necessarily stick at short when the club used a first-round pick on him in 2023. He had some likelihood of outgrowing the position and moving elsewhere, most likely to third base.

Instead, Emerson has remade his timeline on his own terms. His excellent play at short in the minors in 2025 wasn't lost even in the background of an .842 OPS across three levels. The Mariners have openly teased an Opening Day call-up for him, even if it would mean shifting him to third or second in deference to Crawford, who's been manning short since 2019.

Though the 20-year-old is only 2-for-8 so far, he has still managed to make an impression this spring. One of his hits was a 109 mph line drive, and it is notably in place of Crawford at shortstop that he has showed off his craftiness and his athleticism in the field.

Stuff like this takes prospect hype out of the abstract and into reality, and it's so tasty that you just want to chew on it. And the longer Crawford is out, the more time and chances Emerson will have to prove that his time as a worthy success is now.

Mind you, glazing Emerson in this context implies that we're rooting against Crawford. That is not the case. He's too good of a person and, oh yeah, too good of a shortstop. The norm for him over the last five seasons is 3.6 rWAR and a 108 OPS+.

And besides, the question of when the Mariners should promote Emerson is a thorny subject in its own right.

As they did with Julio Rodríguez in 2022, they stand to gain a PPI draft pick if they move aggressively. But if they wait, they stand to stretch Emerson's club control from six years to seven. The latter is risky, but the better play so long as he doesn't disrupt the calculus by winning the Rookie of the Year.

So for now, Emerson in place of Crawford at shortstop is a long-shot "this could happen" situation. But since we all were as soon as Crawford's injury was revealed, we might as well admit we're thinking about it.