5 replacements for the Mariners after the Ty France injury news

The low-cost, unexpected option that could fly under the radar

Remember when we were talking about Luke Raley being that swiss army knife for Scott Servais? This is where it really comes into play. While the Mariners could look to address the Ty France injury with a first baseman, they could also look to add an outfielder, allowing Raley to move to first base more often.

There should be quite a few options out there if Dipoto prefers to go the outfielder route. In that outfielder, the Mariners could opt to target a little bit different player than what they have on their roster. They might not need another middle of the order run producer like France was. How about they add a high contact, athletic outfielder that can steal some bases? I like that plan.

The Mariners and Mets are familiar trade partners, having made one of the bigger trades in either franchise's history, when Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz were sent to New York. They could look to match up again.

As New York enters this weird stage where they have some talent, but not enough, and they have some contracts on the books, they could look to shed some of it. Starling Marte makes perfect sense as a salary dump and a player who could really help the Mariners.

Marte had a tough 2023 season, but in pretty much every other season in his career, he has been an above average player. So far in 2024, he is slashing .280/.329/.421 with six home runs and 10 stolen bases. He has put up a 119 wRC+, and while he's probably not a great defender, he can't be any worse than Mitch Haniger and Dominic Canzone, right? He adds a different element to this Mariners team as someone who doesn't strike out (21.1%) and can steal some bases, while hitting for a high average. He could slot in nicely behind JP or at the back of the lineup.

Marte is owed $20.75 million this year and next year. With the remainder of the 2024 season and all of the 2024 season, it would probably be somewhere around $25 or $26 million total. There's no way the Mariners take on that whole salary, but the Mets could afford to eat a chunk of it and the prospect that the Mariners sent back would be dependent on that amoun. This wouldn't be a huge prospect cost for the Mariners and could allow them to still make another move, but this could prove to be a very underrated and valuable move for Seattle.