Mariners sign clubhouse leader J.P. Crawford to 5-year $51 million contract extension
MINNEAPOLIS — In the days after the 2021 season ended in disappointment, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto made calling J.P. Crawford his first priority.
The purpose of conversation was to reassure the Mariners’ emotional shortstop that regardless of any rumors he might hear or see about the team being linked to free agents such as Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Trevor Story, he would still be their starting shortstop moving forward.
On the day the Mariners’ much-anticipated 2022 season began, Dipoto and the organization proved their words weren’t hollow, signing Crawford to a five-year, $51 million contract extension.
In a news conference at Target Field, hours before first pitch, Crawford, Dipoto and Mariners chairman John Stanton discussed the extension. Clad in an impeccable gray suit with his wife, Kathy, at his side, Crawford offered a different side of the emotion and passion that has made him a fan favorite in the city.
“First and foremost, I want to thank John Stanton, Jerry Dipoto and (assistant general manager) Justin Hollander for giving me this chance and trusting me,” he said. “I want to thank my wife, without you, none of this would even be possible. Thank you for holding it down and making my life really easy. I love you and thank you. I love Seattle. I’ve loved it ever since I put on a jersey for the first time. I’ve really wanted to stay here ever since then. So I’m really happy for this opportunity.”
Crawford, 27, posted a .273/.338/.376 slash line with 89 runs scored, 37 doubles, nine home runs, 54 RBI, three stolen bases, 54 walks in 2021. He was honored with the BBWAA Seattle Chapter Unsung Hero Award for his contributions to the team on and off the field.
With his obsessively competitive mindset and emotional presence, he has grown into a leader and been referred to as the heartbeat of the team.
“Over these last three years just getting a chance to see how he became a part of our environment, the leadership skills that J.P. has are notable,” Dipoto said. “I don’t know if we have a more competitive player. And when the stakes rise, he has a knack for kind of rising with it. That was never more apparent than toward the end of last season.”
Crawford will receive a $5 million signing bonus and receive a $5 million salary in 2022. He will make $10 million per season from 2023-2025 and earn $11 million in 2026.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news early Friday morning and it was officially announced by the Mariners about an hour later.
“This is a fun way to kick off our season,” Dipoto said. “In the news release, I mentioned what an integral part J.P. has become here on the field, in the clubhouse and in our community. This is something we’ve been working on for a little while now and to be able to bring it home before we start our season, it’s just a great way to start. We’re all about positive vibes and J.P. started that when he arrived back in 2019. If things go as we planned, by the end of this, he’ll have played more games at shortstop than anybody in the history of the Mariners.”
When the Mariners started their rebuild plan after the 2018 season, Dipoto asked 15 people from the front office and analytics team to put together a roster for the 2019 team with a payroll in the $155 million area. They could make logical trades or sign free agents based on market value. But the goal was to get younger with more club-controlled players. The most oft-mentioned acquisition in that homework assignment was Crawford, who was trending downward from being a top-10 prospect in baseball to being a bust with the Phillies.
Dipoto executed that acquisition, sending shortstop Jean Segura, left-handed pitcher James Pazos and right-handed pitcher Juan Nicasio to the Phillies in exchange for Crawford and first baseman Carlos Santana, who was traded five days later for Eduardo Encarnacion.
The Mariners plan was for Crawford to meet with recently hired infield guru Perry Hill to clean up some fundamentals on defense and eventually take over the shortstop job by June 1, 2019. It was one of manager Scott Servais’ first conversations with Crawford.
“We brought him out early. It’s like late January, and I said, ‘Hey, we got this infield
guy. He’s an old guy, but he’s really good. Just trust him, see where it goes, you know?’” Servais said. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m all in. I know I got to get better.’ And to his credit he, he went to work. He’s gotten a ton better.”
Did Dipoto see this moment coming when they went through the roster exercise or made the trade?
“Honestly, then we didn’t see it as much as we see it now, to be fair, because we didn’t know the person,” Dipoto said. “What we saw then was a guy who had all the tools to be an excellent defender in our league. We saw on-base skills that go back to probably the first time he put on a uniform; he’s always had good strike-zone judgment. We were able to see that from afar.”
The trade brought a new start to Crawford, who had admittedly lost his way with the Phillies.
“I’ve rarely talked about this with anyone, but I was in a really dark place during that time,” he said. “Baseball wasn’t going the way it was (supposed to). My expectations weren’t there. I under performed. You tried to not look at the media, but it’s everywhere. So you just see all the negativity around, and it wears on you.”
He came to an organization willing to let him develop at his own rate. He would play every day without fear of being sent down. He also found a mentor in Dee Strange-Gordon. The veteran infielder asked for Crawford’s locker to be next to his. Gordon was a constant source of advice, encouragement and criticism for Crawford while also being a confidant.
“He took me under his wing and showed me how to really love baseball again,” Crawford said. “He showed me the passion for it again, and he just taught me how to have fun again out there. He reminded me that it’s just baseball. You’ve been doing it since you were 7, 8 years old. So go out there and have fun.”
It all allowed Crawford to restart his development and blossom from a talented but flawed prospect into an everyday player and eventual team leader.
He won his first Gold Glove Award in 2020 and ranks second among all American League shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) since the start of the 2020 season. During that span, he has played 1,876 innings at shortstop — more innings than any other American League shortstop, ranking ahead of Carlos Correa (1,779 2/3) and Xander Bogaerts (1,607).
“Getting traded over here was a breath of fresh air and I was able to get back on my feet and get in a good head space,” he said, voice cracking. “Man, getting traded was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”