Mariners Call Up Top Prospect Colt Emerson for MLB Debut Against Padres

The Seattle Mariners promoted top prospect Colt Emerson from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday and placed All-Star utilityman Brendan Donovan on the 10-day injured list with a left groin muscle strain. Emerson, 20, was originally announced in Tacoma’s lineup for the Rainiers’ home game against Sugar Land, but was scratched shortly before first pitch. Instead, he made the quick drive north to Seattle and will be the youngest Mariners player to make his major league debut since Félix Hernández did so at 19 years old on Aug. 4, 2005. General manager Justin Hollander said the Mariners electing to call up Emerson wasn’t on his bingo card Sunday morning, nor was placing Donovan on the IL. “I probably wouldn’t have taken the kids tidepooling in Deception Pass (State Park) this morning,” Hollander said with a chuckle. “But, we want to do the right thing for Colt. We also want to do the right thing for the Mariners. We think he’s the best option. This period will get him some runway. This is not a 15 at-bat or 20 at-bat tryout to see if he’s capable of taking the job and running with it for the rest of the year.” Hollander confirmed that Emerson, who is viewed as the shortstop of the future in the Emerald City, will primarily see time at third base at the start of his major league career. He started five games at third base for the Rainiers this season. J.P. Crawford, the longest-tenured player on Seattle’s roster, remains the everyday shortstop. Crawford, who started the season on the injured list with a right shoulder injury, is hitting .217 with six homers in 39 games. Hollander said he, manager Dan Wilson and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto convened Sunday morning and decided it was time to bring up the franchise’s top prospect. Emerson signed a $95 million, eight-year contract April 1 – the biggest commitment at the time for a minor leaguer yet to make his major league debut. The Mariners selected Emerson with the 22nd pick in the 2023 draft, and his stock only rose from there. Emerson had a breakout year in 2025, when he hit .285 with an .842 OPS, 16 homers, 28 doubles and 78 RBIs across three levels and established himself as a big league-caliber defender. This season in Tacoma, Emerson has hit .255 with an .816 OPS, seven homers, eight doubles and 26 RBIs. Emerson got off to a slow start to the season as he dealt with a wrist injury, but Hollander said a cortisone shot has allowed him to bounce back at the plate recently. “He looks loose, he looks comfortable, he looks confident up there,” Hollander said. “He’s starting to put together quality at-bat after quality at-bat. There’s no reason that can’t translate over to what happens on this field out here.” Donovan missed Saturday’s game as he continues to be plagued by a left groin injury. Donovan also missed time from April 18 to May 7 with a left groin muscle strain, and dealt with right groin discomfort earlier in the season as well. Hollander said Donovan reaggravated his left groin injury while trying to hit for the cycle in an 8-3 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday. Donovan will receive a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection for his groin strain, as well as a different injection in his adductor, according to Hollander. There is no timeline yet for Donovan to return to play, but Hollander estimated it could be two to three weeks. Donovan underwent sports hernia surgery in October 2025 shortly after his last season as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, which Hollander said the Mariners’ sports performance team anticipated could make him more susceptible to groin strains and core muscle strains. “Our own internal view was that there would be some days where he didn’t feel good, at least for the first half of the season,” Hollander said. “I think the most important thing that we can do is that we’re putting him in position to go out there and feel good every day.” Reporting by the Associated Press