Mariners place shortstop J.P. Crawford on the injured list

BALTIMORE — Mariners veteran shortstop J.P. Crawford has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hand contusion, three days after he was hit by a 96-mph sinker by Detroit’s Framber Valdez.

The move was retroactive to Saturday, which means Crawford is eligible to be activated when the Mariners return home next Tuesday from their 10-day East Coast trip.

Star catcher Cal Raleigh (right oblique strain) could return at the start of the next homestand, too. Third baseman Brendan Donovan (left groin strain) is considered at least a week behind Raleigh in his recovery.

Ryan Bliss has been promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to take Crawford’s place on the roster. 

Crawford is expected to remain with the team on the road and get further treatment from the medical staff.

“He doing OK,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said before Monday’s series opener against the Orioles. “Just coming a little bit slower than we thought, and so just think (the IL stint) is probably the smart thing to do at this point.”

Crawford also missed two games in mid-May after getting hit by pitches in the right triceps in back-to-back games.

For the third day in a row, rookie sensation Colt Emerson is in the lineup as the shortstop on Monday, and veteran Patrick Wisdom is back at third base.

The 20-year-old Emerson is expected to remain at shortstop during Crawford’s absence.

Crawford, 31, is the long-tenured player on the M’s roster and he’s played more games at shortstop than anyone in franchise history.

Last month, Crawford volunteered to give third base a try and open the door for Emerson at shortstop. That experiment has been on hold the past couple weeks but it has not entirely ended. Perhaps the Mariners will revisit it when Crawford returns from the IL next week.

This story will be updated.