With Garver locked in, Mariners face decisions on Crawford, Miller's spot
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PEORIA, Ariz. -- It’s nearly getaway day for the Mariners at Spring Training, and the club still has a few roster questions it’s looking to answer before voyaging to Seattle for Opening Day.
And they already answered one of those on Sunday by going with Mitch Garver as their backup catcher over Andrew Knizner, a source told MLB.com, which settled the one true position battle in camp.
The more pressing matter centers on J.P. Crawford and how the shortstop’s right shoulder is recovering, as well as how Seattle handles Bryce Miller's rotation spot, given that he’s expected to be placed on the injured list with left oblique inflammation.
J.P.’s status
This one might not be answered until the club hops on its charter from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Monday night. Crawford is making progress each day from the sore throwing shoulder that he’s been nursing for most of camp, though he hadn’t played catch yet by Sunday.
The shortstop received a cortisone shot during a visit to Texas with renowned orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister earlier this week, and he’s been hitting in the cages since Thursday.
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“Getting back on his feet and getting at-bats is definitely important. But certainly, throwing is maybe the bigger question mark,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Crawford has played in just seven Cactus League games and only three at shortstop. But the Mariners aren’t as concerned about his lack of volume, given that he’s entering his eighth season in Seattle and knows what he needs to be ready more than, say, a younger player.
“It is important that he's at a good spot, health-wise, and then also getting enough work so that when he's on the field, he's ready to go too,” Wilson said. “So we're just weighing both of those things and continuing to assess each day as we kind of see the improvement.”
If Crawford needs more reps after Monday’s Cactus finale, it’s conceivable that he could remain in Arizona on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, where Minor League Spring Training games have begun on the back fields. That could push Seattle’s decision until the final hour, as Opening Day rosters aren’t due until Thursday morning.
If he needs an IL stint, it can be backdated, and the earliest he’d be eligible to return would be April 1.
Colt Emerson, the club’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 overall, will not be a fill-in, as he was reassigned to Minor League camp on Saturday.
Leo Rivas is the likeliest candidate, given that he’s a plus defender and is comfortable at shortstop. Cole Young also started there on Friday and Saturday, though that was more experimental, as he’s slated to become the everyday second baseman. Ryan Bliss also played three innings there on Saturday night, suggesting that he will break camp with the team if Crawford goes on the IL.
No. 5 rotation spot
The Mariners haven’t announced who will take Miller’s spot -- it’s been between Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell -- but Hancock is the frontrunner.
After all, it’s the role that he’s fulfilled well over each of the past two seasons -- and more so, he’s had a solid camp, with increased velocity and a much-improved sweeper that could be a real weapon.
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Criswell is still expected to make the team in the bullpen, given that he’s out of Minor League options and the club doesn’t want to risk losing him to the waiver wire.
As for Miller, he hasn’t experienced any setbacks since his first attempt at a full-effort bullpen session on March 11. But he’ll still need to be stretched out in the range of five to six innings and/or 80-90 pitches before returning, maybe less if there’s a soft landing spot on the calendar, as the Mariners have four off-days in April.
He’d conceivably get stretched out in Minors spring games in Arizona, much like George Kirby did last year when he began the season on the IL.
“You don't want to bring him back too early, where you're going to tax the bullpen,” Wilson said. “And so, maybe around an off-day to where you can give your bullpen a little bit of a rest.”
A best-case guestimate would be that Miller is probably three or four weeks away, if all goes well.
“Once he gets rolling and starts to get [stretched] out,” Wilson said, “then it just becomes a matter of where's the best opportunity to plug him in according to the schedule?”