Mariners sending prized rookie shortstop Colt Emerson to minors, AP source says

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners rookie shortstop Colt Emerson will be optioned to Triple-A Tacoma before Friday night's game against the Houston Astros, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the transaction was not official.

Emerson is hitting .190 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in 69 games. The 21-year-old will be replaced on the roster by utilityman Brock Rodden, who was hitting .262 with 19 homers and 65 RBIs in 92 Triple-A games.

Emerson signed a $95 million, eight-year contract on April 1 — the biggest commitment at the time for a player who had yet to appear in the big leagues. In May, he became the youngest Mariners player to make his major league debut since Félix Hernández, who was 19 on Aug. 4, 2005.

The rookie's struggles at the plate have only intensified recently. In August, Emerson hit .182 with one homer, two RBIs and 14 strikeouts in 33 at-bats.

The Mariners are 57-65 after beating the New York Yankees 1-0 on Thursday to snap a six-game skid. Seattle won the AL West and reached the AL Championship Series last season.

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Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson is greeted in the dugout after scoring on an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

From left, Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor, Colt Emerson, Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford watch from the dugout railing during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Colt Emerson (4) reacts after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin Ng)

Seattle Mariners infielder Colt Emerson throws to first off a ground ball from Detroit Tigers Javier Báez during the top of the fourth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Eric Hiller)

TOKYO (AP) — Record-breaking rainfall that pounded cities east of Tokyo overnight flooded roads and dozens of homes, stranded thousands of people, caused power outages and left at least four people dead and one missing.

The Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its most severe warning for heavy rain in more than a dozen municipalities in Chiba prefecture as rain subsided Friday morning but forecast more rain later in the day.

Photos and television footage showed widespread damage after daylight, with homes, cars and parts of railway tracks flooded with muddy water.

The Ground Self-Defense Force said it dispatched buses to pick up about 4,000 stranded people who stayed overnight at the Soga train station, a local route that also serves Tokyo Disney. The theme park did not report any damage.

Thousands more people were stuck overnight at the Narita airport serving the Tokyo region, with trains out of the area stopped. Services partially resumed Friday morning with delays, while flights in and out of Narita were operating normally Friday, with many people returning home at the end of Japan's Bon Buddhist holiday week. Hundreds of people took shelter overnight at the Chiba prefectural government building.

The prefecture said four people were found dead and another person was missing. The victims included a man found floating on a flooded road in Ichikawa city and a woman who had been stuck in a flooded car in Sakura city. Another person pulled from a flooded car in Kashiwa city was presumed dead.

More than 80 homes were flooded in the prefecture and nearly 230,000 residents across the prefecture were advised to take shelter, Chiba officials said.

The torrential rain and flooding also knocked out power to about 23,000 homes Friday morning, down from 68,000 earlier, according to the TEPCO Power Grid.

Record-breaking rainfall of 11.5 centimeters (4.5 inches) fell in just one hour in Chiba City and 9.7 centimeters (3.8 inches) fell in one hour in Sakura, which was also a record. JMA forecast official Takuya Hosomi told a televised emergency news conference that unprecedented levels of rainfall were recorded.

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Cars make their way through flooded road after heavy rain in Oamishirasato, Chiba prefecture, Japan, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Kota Endo/Kyodo News via AP)

Torrential rain floods a road, causing a car to stall, in Ichikawa, Chiba prefecture, Japan, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)

This aerial photo shows submerged cars after heavy rain in Oamishirasato, Chiba prefecture, Japan, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Kota Endo/Kyodo News via AP)

Cars make their way through flooded road after heavy rain in Oamishirasato, Chiba prefecture, Japan, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Kota Endo/Kyodo News via AP)

Record-breaking torrential rain floods a road, causing a car to stall, in Ichikawa, Chiba prefecture, Japan, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)