Because apparently one shortstop injury scare was not enough, the Seattle Mariners found a way to make their infield situation even messier before Monday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mariners had already placed J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right hand contusion, which was enough of a problem by itself. Then came the second one. Colt Emerson, the obvious short-term answer at shortstop, was scratched from the lineup about an hour before first pitch because of back tightness, according to The Seattle Times. And just like that, the clean version of this plan was thrown out, replaced by the infield shuffle we talked about just for fun.
So Emerson’s late scratch forced the Mariners to immediately test the depth chart even more. Young shifted from second base to shortstop for his first career start there. Bliss was inserted at second base and hit ninth. And Wisdom remained at third base.
Back tightness can be minor. Emerson went through regular pregame infield work, so this may have been the Mariners being cautious with a 20-year-old player. But the timing couldn’t be any worse.
Adam Jude of The Seattle Timessummed up the situation well, noting that the Mariners’ infield depth had been stretched “to the max” in Baltimore after Emerson’s late scratch. He also pointed out that Mitch Garver was likely the emergency option at first or third base if Seattle needed to make any additional substitutions.
So, when the emergency plan includes a veteran catcher potentially covering the corners, that’s the sign that we’re approaching duct tape territory to hold the lineup together.
Young moving over to shortstop isn’t a foreign assignment. It’s his natural position, even though the Mariners have used him as their everyday second baseman this season. He had started all 66 games at second base before Monday, and his only big-league appearance at shortstop came last year in a blowout win over the Athletics.
But Young can handle the spot in theory. The more frustrating part is that Emerson was supposed to be the cleaner answer. But instead, the Mariners got chaos.
Emerson will probably return quickly, at least that is the hope. But if Emerson’s back issue lingers, Seattle’s infield suddenly becomes a real concern.
The Mariners entered Monday with a shortstop problem. By first pitch, they had an infield problem. And while that may sound like splitting hairs, one missing player can be covered. Multiple moving pieces can turn into a nightly guessing game.
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