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3 Mariners players fighting for their futures heading into the 2024 season
Time could be running out for these 3 Mariners, who could be fighting for their future with the club heading into 2024.
The 2023 season was an extremely disappointing season for Mariners fans. On the heels of breaking the longstanding playoff drought, Mariners fans expected to be right in the thick of things for the wild card and possibly even the division title. Could the team build off of their momentum? Would they be able to improve off of an impressive 2022 season?
An early injury to Robbie Ray set the stage for a very frustrating year for fans. Early struggles from rookies and veterans alike had many clamoring for changes to be made. Should Scott Servais be fired? The Mariners are cheap, should Dipoto be fired? Do the Mariners need to trade for a big bat, or DFA Ty France? These were all questions that Mariners fans were proposing as we were all grasping for something to change.
As we head into 2024, it is a make-or-break year for a lot of players. The Mariners changed a lot this offseason, cutting back on the strikeouts and hopefully increasing the overall floor. As we progress in this season, we take a look at three Mariners players who are entering this season, fighting for their future to remain with the Seattle Mariners.
Ty France hopes to tap into some of the Driveline magic
France was one of the Mariners' better hitters in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, posting a 129 and 125 wRC+, respectively. He was a high average, high on-base hitter with a little bit of slug, but he controlled the zone very well which is something that Dipoto loves. He is a first baseman, so the lack of power is a little disappointing, but a borderline .300 hitter with 20 home runs is a very good hitter.
That was just the issue in 2023, however, as France was just a .250 hitter and only hit 12 home runs while slugging a putrid .366. Many fans, me included, were calling for his job as these team starting to get hot, and seeing him struggle down the stretch made it all the more frustrating.
Ty France looking great in a recent retest assessment day 🙌 pic.twitter.com/8ZHzsNVMbn
— Driveline Baseball (@DrivelineBB) February 2, 2024
France stayed in Seattle to work with Driveline Baseball, the same group that aided in JP Crawford's breakout year. So far this spring France looks leaner with more muscle and his bat looks a lot faster. Unfairly or not, this has set up a lot of expectations for France to return to his 2021 and 2022 form, and maybe even surpass it.
Let's hope France does because he could see himself out of town pretty quickly if he struggles this year. He is only under contract through 2025 and the Mariners have Tyler Locklear who is seemingly pounding down the door to join the show.
Luis Urias needs to prove himself in camp after showing up in "Less than stellar shape"
Urias is a former top prospect, and Dipoto loves to acquire these types of players as legit bounce-back candidates. He has had a few hits and misses with these types of players, but this is a solid risk to take. Urias was a very good infielder for the Brewers just two years ago, posting a 110 wRC+ in 2022 with 16 home runs. The year before he put up a 112 wRC+ with 23 home runs, posting back-to-back years of two-plus win seasons.
Urias was pretty bad in 2023, though he only played in 52 games because of injuries. He posted just an 83 wRC+ with three home runs and a -.1 fWAR. Much of this year can be dismissed as an outlier because of a few pretty significant injuries. He will be 27 in June, youth is on his side, and he very well could prove that he can become a big league regular.
The issue the Mariners could have (similar to Geno last year) is that Urias showed up to camp in "less than stellar shape, as Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times put it. Coming off a bad year and looking to prove yourself with a new team, that should be the time you show up in the best shape of your life, ready to prove everyone wrong. For Urias to show up out of shape, and on top of that, apparently injured is setting up to be a frustrating year for the former top prospect. Like France, Urias is only under contract through 2025 and another top prospect, Cole Young, is beating down the door and could very well force Urias off this team if he doesn't prove everyone wrong this year.
Dylan Moore could be replaced by a top Mariners prospect this year
This one might be the most realistic option to be fighting for his career to remain in Seattle beyond this year. Dylan Moore continuously flashes signs of being a power speed guy with some versatility. Moore has proven to be a valuable super utility player, especially against left-handed pitching.
We saw the potential of what Dylan Moore could be in the COVID shortened year, when he slashed .255/.358/.496 with a 140 wRC+, and a 1.5 fWAR season. This bought him a lot of time with the Mariners.
Moore has a role on this team, though it isn't an everyday role that should be guaranteed. Moore can certainly steal some bases, and right now, is one of the few guys who can actually play shortstop behind JP Crawford. Like everyone on this list, he is only under control through 2025 (for $3.57M). With Cole Young nearing his major league debut, seemingly pushing Jorge Polanco to third base when that time comes, Moore could be in a battle with Josh Rojas and/or Luis Urias for the bench super-utility role.
Moore could see a lot of time early with Urias dealing with an injury, but if he doesn't cut back on the strikeouts or show that he can get back to the 2020, or even the 2022, Dylan Moore, he may find himself headed out of town.