This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer¡¯s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- Scott Servais had been hinting for nearly a week that offensive changes were coming, but the Mariners¡¯ manager mostly spoke around the topic rather than head on. The personnel shuffle was still hinging on health, the plans hadn¡¯t yet been communicated to players and there¡¯s an obvious sensitivity to the fact that some would lose playing time.

But that changed on Monday afternoon, hours before Seattle looked like it was sinking to defeat before its most remarkable comeback of the year against the Yankees.

¡°We're trying to give our team the best chance to win every night,¡± Servais said ¡°It's going to be a different lineup. It's going to change here probably on a nightly basis.¡±

Specifically, against right-handed pitchers -- like the Yanks¡¯ Marcus Stroman on Monday -- Servais will mix and match righty-hitting Mitch Garver (who was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day) and Mitch Haniger (who took Garver¡¯s spot at designated hitter).

That tactic is an effort to start lefty-hitting Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley in those contests. Both wound up being key vessels in Monday¡¯s comeback.

¡°You're looking at matchups,¡± Servais said. ¡°Who's a better matchup tonight? Is there personal history? How a particular pitcher or starter is throwing, does it match up better against one of the guys? And then you look at who's going best -- is somebody hotter than the other guy?

¡°So, we'll play with that dynamic of those four guys here going forward, and that's a good problem to have. Again, I know the right-handed bats, both Mitches, they want to pick it up. They want to get it going.¡±

There could also be lineups like Sunday¡¯s against righty and 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, where Ty France sat and Raley made his fourth start at first base, though Servais said that was more a designed day off for France.

¡°As we get through this stretch, it¡¯s something that we talked about here about a week ago -- making sure we¡¯re giving our guys days off,¡± Servais said. ¡°You try to match those up as best you can. In the past it was always like, ¡®Ah, this guy¡¯s been scuffling for a couple days, let¡¯s give him a day off.¡¯ It¡¯s actually a good thing if you can give a guy a day off after he¡¯s going good.¡±

There figures to be even more of a crunch after J.P. Crawford was activated off the injured list on Monday, three days later than expected after he was hit by a pitch in his final rehab game at Triple-A Tacoma. Jorge Polanco also appears to be nearing a return after missing six straight games due to right hamstring tightness. He took part in a full pregame workout and was available off the bench.

Crawford¡¯s return will take Dylan Moore off shortstop, but Moore has been a legitimate contributor and has a .997 OPS against lefties. It¡¯s been a breakout year -- and perhaps because he¡¯s playing every day.

Before Crawford¡¯s oblique injury, Moore had most regularly played left field, and the utility man has seen his most career infield action at second base, where Polanco has made 39 of his 40 starts, but has also struggled, hitting .192 with a .606 OPS. Josh Rojas has been Seattle¡¯s backup at second, when he¡¯s not in the third-base platoon with Luis Ur¨ªas.

Rojas has cooled from his scorching start, hitless on this road trip and 5-for-35 in his past nine games -- which, separately, should make Servais¡¯ decision easier to move Crawford back to leadoff. Ur¨ªas, who is batting .158 with a .602 OPS, went through an 0-for-18 skid before his two knocks in Sunday¡¯s loss in Baltimore.

On paper, depth and positional versatility can be ¡°a good problem to have,¡± as Servais has mentioned multiple times. But he doesn¡¯t deny the need for more consistency.

As thrilling as Monday was in the Bronx, the Mariners had just two knocks going into the eighth inning -- both singles from Raley. The same could be said for Saturday¡¯s ¡°gut-check win¡± over the Orioles, when Seattle mounted a comparable comeback after being no-hit through the first five innings.

The Mariners (26-22) figure to be in the American League West race all year, sheerly due to pitching. And they¡¯re 2-2 in this early barometer trip to Baltimore and New York -- venues that there¡¯s a good chance they¡¯d revisit in the postseason, if they get there.

So, for the time being, as the Mariners navigate with what, at times, can be an inconsistent offense, they¡¯ll do with quite a few different looks.