While most Mariners fans were either on their way to work or still staring sleepily into a bowl of soggy Frosted Mini Wheats, Jeff Passan broke the news that the team has signed shortstop JP Crawford to a five-year extension.

Rapid analysis: Good! Your favorite captain of an internet blog ship has been banging this drum for awhile, and I’m glad they got it done. The team, through Jerry’s mouth, made a verbal commitment back in the fall that JP was THEIR shortstop, and would be for awhile. Perhaps not the wisest stance heading into a historical SS free agent class in the 2021 offseason, and perhaps not a stance coming from the purest motives, but that’s a discussion for another day. The bottom line is the Mariners said that JP is their guy and they believe in him, and now they should be credited for following through on that verbal commitment. This became especially imperative after failing to land any free agent hitters. If you’re not going to have money on the books for players from outside, then show us that you’re willing to spend by extending your own.

As for the deal itself, it feels a little light. The team is never going to be sweating this contract, even if the bottom completely fell out for JP. So, hey, congrats to John Stanton’s wallet on the safe investment. A top tier defensive SS who appears to have at least a league average bat is a valuable commodity, and one that perhaps others would pay a little more to possess. But, JP is about to get a lot of money regardless, and we love it when players get a lot of money.

I am glad JP Crawford is a Seattle Mariner. He is fun to watch, and easy to root for. He has the endorsement of the Seager family, which should be good enough for anybody. He’s the kind of guy you love to have as part of your core. Mariners fans, for all their faults, are pretty good at embracing “our guys.” They’ll be happy to do that for five more years.

As for you, Seattle Mariners Baseball Club, keep those extensions rolling.