Seattle Mariners Free Agency: Longtime Shortstop Won't Return to Team

The Seattle Mariners front office is currently in attendance for MLB general manager meetings in Las Vegas, and there will be several areas of need the team will be looking to at least being to address at the annual gathering.

One move that now appears not to be happening is a return for the player that entered 2026 as the longest-tenured member of the roster.

According to an article from Seattle Times reporter Adam Jude, the Mariners have informed longtime shortstop J.P. Crawford that they plan on moving on from him after eight seasons with the club.

This decision seems to have all but signal Seattle's decision to move forward with Colt Emerson, who made his major league debut last season, as the team's shortstop of the future. The Mariners signed their former top prospect to an eight-year, $95 million extension before his debut. At the time, that was the largest contract for a player who hadn't registered any big league service time.

Emerson was nursing a wrist injury for the entire season, which resulted in him undergoing surgery and ending the year on the injured list. He finished his rookie campaign with a slash line of .190/.246/.335 with a .581 OPS in 69 games and hit six doubles, a triple and eight home runs with 23 RBIs. He stole three bases in four attempts.

To make room for Emerson's arrival, and signal his willingness to take a different role and prolong his tenure in the Pacific Northwest, Crawford made the decision to go to then-manager Dan Wilson and the front office and volunteer to move to third base.

"It just came up in a thought in my head. I just want to be a Mariner for life," Crawford said after a game against the Chicago White Sox on May 20 at T-Mobile Park. "And I think that's the best way to do it. And just always being open to helping the team win."

Due to Emerson's injury and Crawford's own respective stints on the injured list, both players ended up manning both the hot corner and short stop last season. Emerson could slot into either position based on offseason moves the M's make.

Crawford was the first piece of a top-to-bottom rebuild for Seattle that eventually led to the franchise breaking its 21-year playoff drought in 2022 and making its first American League Championship Series since 2001 in 2025.

The Mariners sent incumbent shortstop Jean Segura, right-handed pitcher Juan Nicasio and left-handed pitcher James Pazos to the Philadelphia Phillies on Dec. 3, 2018, in return for Crawford and first baseman Carlos Santana.

Crawford became the longest-tenured shortstop in the 50-year history of the franchise, logging 974 games played and earning a spot on Seattle's Top 50 Players of all time list that was revealed this season. He won one Gold Glove with the Mariners in 2020.

The Long Beach, Calif., native will finish his time in the Pacific Northwest with a slash line of .247/.340/.367 and an OPS of .707. He hit 176 doubles, 11 triples and 78 home runs with 366 RBIs.

In addition to his on-the-field contributions to the franchise, he also served as a mentor for several of the Mariners' young infielders, including Emerson and 2026 Gold Glove-winning second baseman Cole Young.

Seattle will be looking to add a "veteran infield presence" this offseason, which several former players meet the description for, but it doesn't look like Crawford will fit in that vision.