The season began with Tim Beckham at shortstop with J.P. Crawford playing at Triple-A Tacoma. Crawford was kept in the minors for the first month of the season to let him figure things out at the plate, but also to take advantage of his service time. However, an injury to Dee Gordon and poor defensive play from Beckham forced the Mariners’ hand to call up Crawford on May 10.
Both Crawford and Gordon have played together often, though injuries caused both of them to spend time on the injured list. Currently, Crawford is injured with a hamstring.