Seattle Mariners place J.P. Crawford on injured list, recalls Ryan Bliss

Seattle Mariners have placed shortstop J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right-hand contusion and recalled infielder Ryan Bliss from Triple-A Tacoma ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Crawford sustained the injury when he was struck on the hand by a pitch from Framber Valdez during the third inning of Friday’s game against Detroit.

The 31-year-old subsequently missed the final two games of the series, prompting the Mariners to place him on the injured list. The move has been backdated to Saturday.

Despite the setback, Crawford has enjoyed a productive season, batting .228 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs across 55 appearances.

His tally of 10 homers already ranks as the third-highest single-season total of his career.

Seattle manager Dan Wilson admitted there remains uncertainty over the length of Crawford’s absence, although the club is hopeful he will return as soon as possible.

The shortstop will stay with the team and continue receiving treatment during the Mariners’ upcoming three-city road trip, which concludes in Washington later this week.

"He's doing OK," Wilson said.

"Just coming a little bit slower than we thought, so we think it's probably the smart thing to do at this point. It'll be retroactive, so hopefully we're getting him back as soon as possible. (There's) still quite a bit of pain."

In a corresponding move, Seattle recalled Bliss from Triple-A Tacoma.

The infielder was part of the Mariners’ Opening Day roster and appeared in one major league game before being sent down. At Tacoma this season, Bliss has batted .204 with one home run and 15 RBIs in 51 games.