Mariners, one-time Gold Glove-winning SS J.P. Crawford agree to five-year, $51M deal
The last time the Seattle Mariners made the playoffs was in 2001, and the fiery Lou Piniella was their manager, Alex Rodriguez had just departed for the Texas Rangers and they had recently welcomed soon-to-be AL MVP and Rookie of the Year Ichiro Suzuki into the fold. 21 years later, the Mariners, behind newcomer (and 2021 AL Cy Young award winner) Robbie Ray and a pair of up-and-coming outfielders in Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez, are looking to break their drought, which is the longest current streak in MLB.
If they're to do so, another key piece of the puzzle looks to be shortstop J.P. Crawford, who Seattle is now reportedly committing to with a long-term contract.
Crawford was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft and made his big-league debut with the club in September 2017. A native of Long Beach, Calif., Crawford played in 23 games with the Phillies that season and 49 more in 2018, before being traded to the Mariners in December of that year.
The 27-year-old recorded seven home runs, 46 RBIs and a .226/.313/.371 slash line over 345 at-bats in 93 games with Seattle in 2019, before struggling again at the dish over the pandemic-shortened 2020 but making a name for himself defensively. That year, Crawford finished second in assists (145) and third in putouts as a shortstop (73) and double plays turned as a shortstop (31), while placing fourth in fielding percentage as a shortstop (.986) and earning a Gold Glove award.
Crawford put it all together in 2021, having another solid season defensively while also producing career highs across the board with the bat. He finished last season with nine home runs, 54 RBIs, 89 runs scored, 169 hits, 37 doubles and a .273/.338/.376 slash line over 619 at-bats and 160 games played.
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