Mariners Moose Tracks, 9/3/23: J.P. Crawford, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Jimmy Buffett

Good morning, everybody, and a very happy Sunday to you!

In Mariners news:

• As I’m sure you are acutely aware, the Mariners moved into sole possession of first place last night with their victory over the Mets and Houston’s loss to the Yankees. That may not have been the case if it weren’t for J.P. Crawford, though.

• Recently DFA’d righty Devin Sweet has been claimed off waivers by the A’s. As a longtime fan of his, I’m bummed to see him leave the org, but if there’s any team in need of big league innings, it’s Oakland, so look to see him get some work over there.

Around the league:

• The NL MVP race between Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mookie Betts has been thrilling to watch and will likely come down to the wire, and Acuña made an emphatic case in last night’s contest between Atlanta and the Dodgers.

• Padres catcher and former Mariner Austin Nola opened up to the San Diego Union-Tribune about his injury-related struggles - including an eye movement issue - amid a tough season.
• The Angels have company with regards to hyper-aggressively promoting prospects.

• Speaking of the Angels, Jeff Fletcher at the Orange County Register reports that Mike Trout plans to “have conversations” with team executives regarding the future of the organization. Yikes!
• Johnny DiPuglia has resigned from his role with the Nationals. DiPuglia had been with the Nats since 2009 as their director of international scouting, and had also held an assistant GM role since 2019.

Connor’s picks:

• Sip on a margarita this Labor Day weekend for old times’ sake.

• Need this at T-Mobile Park STAT.