3 options for the Mariners to deal with their Ty France problem

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.