J.P. Crawford Getting Work At Third Base

J.P. Crawford has been working at third base and taking grounders there before a game. The idea originated with Crawford, who approached manager Dan Wilson about trying it this weekend, and his agent later discussed it with general manager Justin Hollander. All parties appear aligned on testing the change. The shift connects to Colt Emerson reaching the majors after signing an eight-year, $95MM contract. Emerson debuted with a home run and has played both shortstop and third base, though most of his experience is at shortstop. Seattle views Emerson as a long-term shortstop, especially since Crawford is set to become a free agent. Crawford benefits from increased defensive versatility and potentially improved performance at third base as his recent defensive grades have declined.

"Crawford's openness to sliding off shortstop comes in conjunction with top prospect Colt Emerson reaching the majors. Seattle inked the 20-year-old to a record-setting eight-year, $95MM contract before he took a single plate appearance in the majors. Emerson made his big league debut earlier this week and promptly deposited a ball over the right field fence, making his first big league hit a three-run big fly. The 2023 first-rounder (No. 22 overall) is currently the third-ranked prospect in the entire game, per Baseball America."

"Emerson has played both third base and shortstop in his first three big league games, but he's spent the overwhelming majority of his career at shortstop (2074 innings, compared to 175 at third base). The Mariners surely envision him as their shortstop of the future - particularly with Crawford set to become a free agent at season's end. From Crawford's vantage point, the experiment makes good sense. It's a team-first approach in the short term, allowing Emerson to perhaps claim the spot the Mariners hope him to occupy well into the 2030s, but it also expands his own defensive versatility ahead of his first trip to the open market."

"Crawford has been getting work at the hot corner and was taking grounders there prior to today's game. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com was among those to report that the idea was actually brought up by Crawford, who approached manager Dan Wilson about the possibility this weekend. Crawford's agent subsequently ran it by general manager Justin Hollander. All parties seem to be on board with seeing what it might look like."

"Crawford's defensive grades have declined in recent years, particularly over the past season-plus. If he can grade out more effectively at the hot corner, that'll only make him more appealing while Emerson acclimates to the majors at his natural position. Third base isn't entirely new for Crawford, but it's been quite some time since he logged any game action there."

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