As the Mariners head into the final week of a brutally disappointing 2026 season, the conversation is shifting fast toward who won’t be around in 2027. Randy Arozarena sits near the top of that list, with Víctor Robles and Taylor Ward also surfacing as likely departures.
Now, if Adam Jude of The Seattle Times is on the money - and he usually is - J.P. Crawford may belong in that same goodbye line.
Jude reported that the Mariners have not made any moves to re-sign Crawford, who is in the closing stretch of his five-year, $51 million deal. That tracks with the way this season has gone for the 31-year-old, whose production has slipped enough that he’s headed for the lowest bWAR of his Seattle run. That’s a sharp fall from 2023, when his 5.2 bWAR stood as the best by a Mariners shortstop not named Alex Rodriguez.
The decline has shown up even more clearly on defense. Crawford, who won a Gold Glove with Seattle in 2020, has posted rough numbers this year, ranking in the first percentile in Range (OAA) and the 21st percentile in arm strength.
Still, the door may not be completely shut.
Colt Emerson is expected to be the long-term answer at shortstop in Seattle, unless the Mariners make the highly unlikely move to go after a player like Reds star Elly De La Cruz. Even then, Emerson’s year has been affected by a lingering wrist injury, and he’ll still have to win the job next spring - or whenever the pending lockout ends. That leaves at least a sliver of room for Crawford, even if it’s only as a different kind of fit.
Jude also floated the possibility of Seattle bringing in a veteran shortstop this winter, which adds another wrinkle. Pair that with Crawford’s past comments about wanting to be a Mariner for life, and you can see the outline of a possible return as a utility piece. He’d still bring value getting on base, and he remains one of the most respected voices in the clubhouse.
No one is exactly pushing the Mariners to bring him back. But it’s also hard to rule it out entirely, especially if Crawford’s market turns out to be light and the team has the chance to work out a team-friendly deal.
For now, the obvious move is to enjoy what could be Crawford’s final six home games, with the Astros and Angels coming to town. But there’s still a chance, however small, that Seattle hasn’t seen the last of him. And if that does turn out to be the case, there would be a certain poetry to one of the top 50 players in franchise history finishing where he’s always wanted to be.
In Other News...
Mariners Letdown Feels Even Worse With What Comes Next
Seattles 2026 season has landed in the harshest possible category, with ESPNs Jeff Passan labeling the Mariners the biggest disappointment in baseball. The case is hard to dispute from the outside. A club that came so close to the World Series a year ago instead spent this season watching too many core pieces slide backward, with the overall picture tilting toward regression rather than the kind of incremental growth that keeps a contender on track.
The sting only grows when the focus turns to what comes next, because the Mariners do not have the cushion of obvious young breakthroughs to soften the blow. Passan pointed to the contrast with the Mets, who at least have a wave of promising rookies and some future optimism, while Seattle is staring at looming free agency questions after a year that failed to end in the postseason. For a team that had already set the bar high, the letdown is one thing. The possibility of losing ground from here makes it feel even worse. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Let One Cal Raleigh Problem Drag On Too Long
The Mariners rough 2026 stretch has been traced back by some observers to the World Baseball Classic in March, when Cal Raleigh and Paul Skenes were among the players trying to balance a high-profile international stage with the demands of an upcoming season. Skenes has already acknowledged the event might have played a role in his own struggles, and Raleighs early slump and oblique injury have been part of the same conversation as Seattle looked for answers.
Still, the WBC is only part of the story. There has been skepticism around whether it was truly the main cause of Raleighs problems, especially with other factors at play and the Mariners taking too long to make the kind of adjustments that might have steadied things sooner. For a team that needed a cleaner start, the uncertainty around where the real issue began has only made the season feel harder to untangle. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Could Face A Much Bigger Randy Arozarena Problem This Winter
Randy Arozarena gave the Mariners exactly the kind of impact they were hoping for in 2026, and now the reward for that success may be a winter full of uncertainty. With free agency looming, Seattle has reason to brace for a market that could move quickly once clubs start lining up for one of the more proven bats available, especially after a season that reminded everyone how much he can change an offense.
The Red Sox are already mentioned as a possible front-runner, and the possibility of a big contract puts Seattle in a difficult spot even before the offseason officially gets rolling. If Arozarena leaves, the Mariners will need to weigh a wide range of alternatives, from free agents such as Seiya Suzuki or Ian Happ to trade possibilities like Gunnar Henderson, Elly De La Cruz and Ronald Acua Jr., which tells you just how big the hole could be if they lose him. [Read more 🡒]