Mariners' J.P. Crawford: No lock for primary leadoff duties
Crawford, who hit leadoff in 48 of 53 games last season, is likely to share the role more often this season with Mitch Haniger, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
"We'll continue to play with that. It won't be just locked in," manager Scott Servais said. "Last year, we had J.P. at the top, just because I thought we didn't have a ton of options. So, we'll continue to be flexible and move it around there." The 26-year-old has gotten off to a modest start in Cactus League play -- he's hitting just .200 (2-for-10) with five walks, a stolen base and a run across his first six games -- but he reported to spring camp with about 10 pounds of additional muscle and hit a career-best .255 last season over 232 plate appearances while striking out at a career-low 16.8 percent clip. However, Haniger is now back and healthy after missing almost two full seasons. The veteran outfielder slashed .330/.388/.580 across 45 games at the top of the order in 2018 and profiles as a highly viable opposite-handed alternative to the lefty-hitting Crawford in the leadoff spot.
