The Seattle Mariners are headed toward some uncomfortable conversations surrounding J.P. Crawford and his future at shortstop.

Let's just look at the very basic facts of the matter.

1) Crawford is the Mariners' longest-tenured player and carries a lot of weight in the clubhouse. That matters.

2) Crawford enters play on Saturday hitting just .202, which isn't particularly strong, but he's also got a .368 on-base percentage, which is.

3) Crawford is basically a human ABS system at the plate. He is in the 97th percentile of chase rate and 86th percentile of whiff rate. He puts the ball in play and he has an immaculate eye.

4) Crawford is a free agent at the end of the season, so while the M's certainly need to care about his feelings and emotions this season, they don't need to ultimately worry about they affect the future.

5) Colt Emerson, among the top prospects in baseball, also plays shortstop and is closing in on a promotion.

6) Crawford grades out poorly defensively. He's in the sixth percentile of range and only in the 17th percentile of arm strength. Entering play on Friday, he was the worst-rated shortstop in the sport when it comes to defensive runs saved.

So, given all that: How do the Mariners handle things moving forward? A franchise icon who may end up in the team Hall of Fame, who still contributes offensively, but has shortcomings defensively - and a young shortstop is waiting in the wings.

It's not an easy conversation, which is why we brought in ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast.

We all agree that Crawford is not getting cut or traded, but could the M's go to him with more designated hitter days as the season progresses? Is that a more palatable conversation?

"Yes. I think that there are times when you'll see different mix. We saw at the end of Derek Jeter's career, there was real pushback about what do you do with an aging star who wasn't as good defensively. And Derek was not, it wasn't like he was going in there volunteering that he wanted to play someplace else. And so what you saw a little bit more of was a day off, he might be a DH on a given day, that sort of thing. They tried to mix in those kind of days.

I am sure, also because of JP's injury history, when Colt Emerson comes up, he's going to get some games at shortstop. They're going to want to keep him ready potentially to be in that spot. And here's the other thing too. I do think with all these teams, when when you get to late in the year, let's say the Mariners wind up winning the American League West but JP is struggling and defensively it's an issue, at some point late in the year, all the niceties go away, and it comes down to, 'you know what? We need to play the nine guys we think give us the best chance to win.' And so it really, the question is, will JP continue to be one of those guys through the year?

I remember when Mookie Betts began to play shortstop last year. Just, the general feeling was, 'look, we're going to try it at short, and it probably is not going to work out, and at some point, he's probably going to go back to the outfield.' Well, guess what happened? He got better, and he was excellent defensively by the end of the year. So the Dodgers left him there. He held on to that spot.

And I think that's what's on the shoulders of JP this year."

Regardless of how it goes, this is one of the biggest subplots for the Mariners this season.

The M's will be back in action on Saturday night at 6:40 p.m. PT against the Kansas City Royals.

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