SEATTLE — In the top of the eighth inning of an eventual 4-1 Seattle Mariners loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday at T-Mobile Park, the longest-tenured player on the Mariners roster had a pair of plays that perfectly exemplifies an ongoing conundrum for the M's.

In the first plate appearance in the top of the eighth, Kansas City designated hitter Salvador Perez hit a ground ball to the left side of Seattle shortstop J.P. Crawford.

The veteran infielder, who's in his eighth season with the organization, failed to cleanly scoop the hit and was dinged with a fielding error as Perez's ground ball rolled into the shallow outfield.

Four hitters later, Crawford made an excellent grab on a line drive hit by Royals second baseman Michael Massey and made a quick turn-and-toss to Cole Young at second base to complete an inning-ending 6-4 double play.

That pair of eighth-inning plays encapsulates an ongoing debate on what Crawford's role should be on the team this year.

Statistically, Crawford's defensive metrics have taken a noticeable step back from his Gold Glove-caliber season in 2020.

The 31-year-old shortstop has negative-four outs above average (OAA), per Baseball Savant. That mark ranks in the second percentile of the major leagues. Crawford's range/arm strength is clocked at 77.6 miles per hour, which ranks in the 12th percentile of baseball.

For a team that ranks dead-last in the major leagues in OAA (-16), having a shortstop with a negative defensive impact isn't ideal.

However, plays like the one against Massey show that Crawford is still capable of getting difficult out. Having that ability incentivizes the team to keep him in the field.

"JP's a pro and has done a great job for us at (shortstop)," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Sunday at T-Mobile Park. "Has stayed true and made a really nice play on that line drive and turned in a really good throw to Cole Young, who did a great job of staying on the bag. Thought that was a great play all around, got us out of the inning. You know that JP is mentally tough. Makes the error to start the inning but stays true and makes the play to end it."

There has been a lot of criticism lobbied Crawford's way for his defense this season. That push back has been amplified with the team's top prospect and the No. 7 prospect in baseball (per MLB Pipeline), Colt Emerson, currently waiting in the wings with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

Seattle could always opt to make up for Crawford's defense by bringing up Emerson to play shortstop and move the former to designated hitter.

Crawford is slashing .204/.357/.301 with a .658 OPS in 27 games and has hit three doubles and two home runs with seven RBIs. He was out from March 26-April 2 due to right shoulder inflammation he suffered in spring training.

The surface numbers aren't inspiring for a potential DH and a move to that role would clog up the Mariners' right field/DH platoon. But Crawford's underlying numbers prove he's still one of the most disciplined hitters in the clubhouse.

Per Baseball Savant, Crawford has an xBA (expected batting average) of .265, which ranks in the 69th percentile of baseball. The veteran's whiff rate, chase rate, strikeout rate and walk rate all rank in the 84th percentile of baseball or better.

Crawford is under the last season of a five-year, $51 million contract. Barring an unexpected trade, there's little chance the M's opt to move on from the 31-year-old before his contract expires.

Until Seattle makes a decision to call up Emerson or give Crawford DH days — there will be several moments like the eighth inning Sunday, both the positive and negative. And will be up to the club to find a balance or resolution in that.

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