The Seattle Mariners are spending this weekend celebrating Rick Rizzs, and that’s exactly right. After 41 years behind the microphone, he has earned every bit of the love coming his way, and he’ll be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame next year.
But if this is a time for giving flowers, J.P. Crawford should be in that conversation too.
Seattle’s season has been ugly down the stretch. The Mariners took two of three from the Colorado Rockies last weekend, then split a two-game set with the Houston Astros on Tuesday and Wednesday before dropping two more to the Los Angeles Angels. The record may be dragging, but the broader picture is clearer: this franchise has spent the last several years building something real, and Crawford has been one of the key pieces holding it together.
He’s 31 now, and his path to Seattle started when the Philadelphia Phillies took him in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft. The Mariners acquired him after the 2018 season in the trade that sent Jean Segura to Philadelphia, and he first played for Seattle in 2019.
Since then, he’s hit .247 with a .340 on-base percentage, and in 2023 he led the American League with 94 walks while also belting 19 homers. He won a Gold Glove in the COVID 2020 season, and he has played more games at shortstop than anyone else in franchise history.
There’s still uncertainty ahead. Crawford is a free agent after the season, and while a return in 2027 can’t be ruled out, there’s also a real chance this is it.
That’s why his place in Mariners history deserves to be recognized now, not later. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Mariners of all-time earlier this summer, and there’s a real chance he eventually lands in the team’s Hall of Fame as well.
His importance goes beyond the numbers. On the “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast, the point was made that the roster reset after 2018 was painful - from James Paxton to Robinson Canó to Edwin Díaz - but what came after was hope, then fulfillment, then competitiveness, and a new era of Mariners baseball. Crawford was there at the front of it.
Before Julio and Cal. Before Gilbert and Kirby and Woo.
Crawford was the guy setting the tone. Kyle Seager was still around.
Mitch Haniger was still around. But Crawford became the face of the next wave, the player who helped make the transition feel like something more than a rebuild.
He brought energy when the team needed it. He brought excitement when the team needed it.
He brought leadership when the team needed it. And when Seattle needed someone to rise from that young group and help push the whole thing forward, Crawford did exactly that.
The Mariners will face the Angels again in the penultimate game of the season on Saturday night. Kade Anderson will make his final start of the season after his historic outing against the Colorado Rockies last weekend.
The season ends Sunday at 12:10 p.m. PT.
In Other News...
Mariners Lose Andrs Muoz For The Year At The Worst Time
The Mariners are heading into the final stretch without Andrs Muoz, a blow that lands at exactly the wrong moment for a club trying to hold together its late-season bullpen plan. Seattle put its closer on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation, and because only three games remain, his season is effectively over after an injury that first surfaced last weekend in Denver.
Troy Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to help fill the gap, but replacing Muoz is about more than just shuffling a roster spot. He had already been unavailable for the past three games, and now the Mariners have to navigate the finish without one of their most trusted late-inning arms while the stakes keep rising in the closing days of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Face 3 Roster Holes That Could Test This Offseason Plan
After a disappointing finish and an early postseason exit, the Mariners enter the winter with a familiar kind of pressure: keep the core intact, but fix the places that kept them from getting where they wanted to go. Julio Rodrguez, Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor are still in place, which gives Seattle a strong foundation, but the roster around them has clear questions as the offseason begins.
Third base, shortstop and left field all stand out as spots the Mariners need to address, and each one comes with its own wrinkle, whether it is injuries, free agency or plain performance uncertainty. However Seattle chooses to fill those holes, the front office knows the next few months will go a long way toward determining whether this team can turn a frustrating season into something more durable. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Face A Left Field Decision They Cant Afford To Miss
The Mariners are staring at a familiar offseason balancing act, with a new manager to hire and an offense that still needs help in obvious places. Left field is one of the spots that could change quickly if Randy Arozarena reaches free agency, and while Seattle does have internal answers it could try, the front office also has to keep an eye on the trade market as it maps out the next roster.
Names like Tyler Soderstrom and Riley Greene have already surfaced as possible fits, which tells you how wide the search could go if the Mariners decide they need a bigger swing. Any serious pursuit would likely be tied to broader offseason maneuvering, including the sort of speculative trade chatter that always follows a team with enough pitching depth to draw attention, but the main question remains the same: how aggressive will Seattle be in filling a spot it cannot afford to leave unsettled? [Read more 🡒]