Mariners' Colt Emerson makes 1st first career start at shortstop as J.P. Crawford gets day off

SEATTLE (AP) — Colt Emerson will make his first MLB start at shortstop for the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night against the White Sox, less than 24 hours after hitting a three-run homer for his first big league hit.

Emerson will be playing in his third MLB game. He was the team's top pick in the 2023 amateur draft and started the first two games of his big league career at third base while J.P. Crawford played his usual position of shortstop.

Crawford, the longest-tenured member of the Mariners, was given the day off Tuesday. That move gave Emerson, who recently signed a $95 million, eight-year contract — the largest for a minor league player with no big league experience — his first chance to play at his natural position in the majors.

Manager Dan Wilson has been impressed by the 20-year-old Emerson in the early stages of his career.

“He’s come up here and been very mature, and his approach has been outstanding,” Wilson said. “That’s the guy, the player that we thought he was.”

Emerson was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday because All-Star utilityman Brendan Donovan was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin muscle strain. General manager Justin Hollander estimated that Donovan will be sidelined for two to three weeks, which means Emerson will have plenty of other chances to start at third base.

With left-hander Anthony Kay (3-1, 4.61 ERA) starting for Chicago, Wilson chose a more right-handed heavy hitting lineup, giving Crawford a day off. Patrick Wisdom, who was reinstated from the injured list on Monday following a left oblique strain, will start at third base for Seattle.

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