As I was scrolling through my social media feeds on Monday afternoon, I noticed an interesting trend: A seemingly high population of Seattle Mariners fans that want to trade J.P. Crawford this offseason.

Now 30 years old, Crawford will turn 31 in January. He's coming off a year in which he hit .265 with 12 home runs, 58 RBIs and a 111 OPS+. He also stole eight bases and posted a .352 on-base percentage. The Mariners advanced to the American League Championship Series.

I want to state up front: I think a trade of Crawford is unlikely, and I would be against it, but let's examine the situation at-hand.

Why would a trade make sense? 

1) Money. J.P. Crawford is due $12 million in 2026, and even though his contract is off the books in 2027, that money could be valuable as the Mariners look to expand their $30-ish million budget for the looming offseason.

Now, nobody is taking on Crawford's salary in full, so the M's would never save the full $12 million, but every little bit helps, conceivably.

2) Colt Emerson is waiting. Emerson is one of the top prospects in baseball and after finishing the year in Triple-A, he's knocking on the doorstep. Some people want to give Emerson the job right away in 2026, and others think that the likes of Leo Rivas can hold down the fort until Emerson is ready, whenever that is.

3) The defense is shaky. Crawford let the American League in games played at shortstop with 157, and he made 13 errors. A former Gold Glove winner, he posted a .977 fielding percentage and his throwing seemed to take a major regression this season. He was bailed out several times by Josh Naylor, or that error number would have been worse.

4) The bat is more limited. While Crawford's calling card is his ability to get on base and make pitchers work, he offers little in the way of power, and he also doesn't run that often.

Why a trade wouldn't make sense

1) Money. As outlined above, a Crawford trade won't end up saving much money. So is it really worth it?

2) Leadership and culture. As someone who has been around the team plenty in the last year, I can tell you first hand how much that clubhouse loves Crawford. They point to him as the leader, and it makes sense since he's the longest-tenured Mariner. You can't only hang onto someone for sentimental reasons but would it really be worth blowing up the clubhouse, when you really aren't gaining anything financially?

*As evidenced by the post below, teammates have been thinking of Crawford as a clubhouse leader for years now.*

3) Colt Emerson isn't ready. Just 20 years old, Emerson hit .285 in the minors in 2025 with 16 home runs. He played 34 games at Double-A and six at Triple-A, not including a short playoff run for Tacoma. Therefore, he played just 44 games above High-A.

For comparison, Cole Young played 178 games above High-A, and he still looked overwhelmed at times by major league pitching. Emerson is 134 games shy of hitting that mark. Even if you think Emerson is better than Young, wouldn't it stand to reason that he needs at least 100 games in Double-A or Triple-A next season before making the jump? That would mean at least August, assuming he's fully healthy.

The Mariners would be better served utilizing Emerson at third base when he's ready, depending on what they do at the position this offseason, and letting Crawford hold onto shortstop through the rest of 2026.

Emerson could be ready to take the job in full on Opening Day 2027, but it doesn't make sense to start the transition now.

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