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3 options for the Mariners to deal with their Ty France problem
Ty France, despite offseason work at Driveline, has been struggling for the Mariners. Here are three options they can look at in his stead
I truly hoped we wouldn't be here this season, but there was always a part of me that wondered if it was going to happen. Ty France is really struggling for the Mariners, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Throughout the offseason, we all saw that he was putting in work at Driveline, and the hope was that it would re-invigorate his swing, leading to the Ty France of old who could be a .300 hitter.
Well, it hasn't happened. In fact, this is the worst Ty France that we have seen at the plate so far. He's slashing .236/.284/.357, good for an OPS+ of 87. His strikeout rate, while not terrible, is still 6.7% higher than the last three seasons. His BB rate has dropped as well, by 1.1%. You can't even blame bad luck, as he still has a .287 BABIP. The only bright spot is that he is hitting the ball a little bit harder, as his exit velo and hard hit rate have risen by 1.1 mph and 4.6%, respectively.
Here's the thing. You can't be doing that as a first baseman, especially as a slow one (France ranks 397th out of 418th), and a bad defender. This team already struggles on offense, and you can't have one of your power/impact positions performing as a negative across all aspects of the game. France has had some big moments recently, like the 12-pitch AB against the Orioles as well as a late RBI single against the Yankees, but is still hitting .226/.262/.371 in the month of May.
What can the Mariners do about it? Let's take a look at three options they have for their Ty France problem.
Ty France Option 1: Have him get "injured"
This one fits directly into what you might see in other sports. A guy goes on the IL for a short stint with an oblique, a tight hammy, a sore elbow... something along those lines. They aren't really hurt, but things just aren't going right and they need a mental reset.
That's what the Mariners could do with France. It's the weirdest option, and it isn't something that we see all that often anymore. It could do wonders for France though. Get him a 10-game rest, a mental break, and help him reset for June. We've seen the short time off do wonders for him in the past, it's just usually that France can't stay healthy for more than two months at a time and gets injured anyway. Why not preemptively shut him down a bit and see if he can get right?
This is twofold to me, as it gives the Mariners extra time to figure out if they want to keep Ty France around. If you give him this time off to reset, you would expect him to come back with renewed vigor, especially if you had "the talk" with him during his time off. If he comes back and still isn't good, you could relegate him to a platoon role where you see more of Raley at first, or you try and throw Garver or Haniger over there to open up the DH spot a little bit more to get Haniger out of RF.
And if that doesn't work, and he really can't hit, well...
Ty France Option 2: Trade him away
This is the toughest option. France is at an all-time low, and you aren't going to be able to get a lot for him. I think it would severly limit what you could get back in return, and would likely have to send him along with a nice prospect piece in order to get something that could help you in return. Wherever he goes, you run the risk of him figuring it out and turning back into a good hitter.
Then again, he's borderline unplayable at this point. You can't have your starting first baseball be projected out for over a negative 1.0 WAR on the season. There are likely some teams that would take him on alongside a prospect, but you are likely limited and that's going to further reduce his trade value.
With UFA coming after the 2025 season, France would have 1.5 years of control left. Is that enough to tempt a team into taking him on at the deadline? They could hope for a resurgence that helps power their team a bit, or enough that they could swap him next season at the deadline to a contender who needs a bat to recoup and likely improve upon their overall value.
They could always make a big splash by going after one of the big names, but you're either moving France to a lower role and keeping him on the team, or moving him there to be that players replacement on their team. We will start having trade scenarios as the season progresses, but we just aren't quite there yet. You never know though, as Dipoto and Hollander could definitely already be working the phones after seeing Luis Arreaz move.
I can see it happening, but I think the final option is the one that is the most likely to happen.
Ty France Option 3: Call up Tyler Locklear
This is the one that everyone seems to be hoping for. The Mariners have been playing Locklear exclusively at first in the minors since the start of 2023, despite him being a third baseman in college. Could this be because they were thinking that down the line he would be a France replacement? Or, was it a foot speed thing? Likely, it's a bit of both, but that is where we are at now.
Locklear has been crushing it in AA, which is a notoriously hard place for people to hit. That hasn't stopped Locklear from putting up a slash line of .290/.399/.536, with seven homers and 11 doubles in 36 games. The strikeouts rate, 26.1%, isn't terrible either, although a bit higher than what you want to see in AA.
Could the Mariners move Locklear up to AAA soon, even though he only has 58 games in AA so far across his young career? It's worth having a conversation about, as the Mariners are going to need to find a solution. Could testing the 23-year-old be the way to do it? Getting him to Tacoma by the beginning of June, and then re-visiting how he is doing by the MLB All-Star Break to figure out if the Mariners need to trade for a first baseman, or just call up Locklear and give him a chance.
No matter what, something needs to change. We cannot contend with this Ty France. I want it to work out, I really do. Maybe these last few games are the start of his comeback. If not, a solution needs to be found, and it needs to be found soon.