The Mariners have waived Ty France, signaling the end of his career in Seattle

After a tough series against the Houston Astros which saw the Mariners drop two out of three games, the Mariners finally made a move with the offense. While it was not a trade that Mariners fans had hoped for, it may be a case of addition by subtraction. The Mariners placed Ty France on outright waivers, meaning he can be claimed by the other 29 teams in the league. At this time, France will remain on the 40-man roster and can still play in games until he is claimed.

Ty France is a fan favorite in Seattle, and has been for some time. He has struggled for a while now, and it seems that the Mariners are now ready to move on. It is not just 2024 that has been a problem for France, his struggles go all the way back to start of the second half of 2022. France was elected to the All-Star game in 2022, and his numbers have declined since.

Since the start of 2023, France i hitting just .241/.328/.361/.689 with a 98 OPS+. While those numbers combined are below average, his 2024 has been just terrible. He is hitting just .223/.312/.350/.662 with an OPS+ of 94. He is striking out at a career high mark (24.2%) and is well below league average in average exit velocity and hard hit percentage.

Like I said above, he can still play in games for the Mariners until he gets claimed. Earlier this month, the Toronto Blue Jays waived outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. He has gone unclaimed, and has continued to play for the Blue Jays knowing every game could be his last. Is that something the Mariners plan to do? It is still too early to tell, but early indications are that the Mariners will call up a player to take over the first base roll.

Who will take over first base duties?

The obvious choice is for the Mariners to call up Tyler Locklear, the Mariners 6th ranked prospect, and 99th overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Locklear had a cup of coffee with the Mariners earlier this year when France went down with an injury. He hit .200/.250/.433 in his 30 at bats, while hitting two home runs and striking out a whopping 40%. He has been slugging the ball down in AAA Tacoma this year as well.

While Locklear seems like the most likely choice, the Mariners may choose to call up another infielder. Ryan Divish, of the Seattle Times, wrote that the Mariners may look to call up veteran infielder Jason Vosler from AAA Tacoma instead of Locklear. The 30-year-old has struggled in his short Major League career, but he is absolutely killing it down in Tacoma.

Vosler is hitting .289/.357/.526/.883 with 20 home runs, 77 RBI's and 33 walks. While those are some seriously impressive numbers, keep in mind the league he plays in: The PCL. The PCL is notorious for inflated hitting numbers, so take those stats with a grain of salt. Vosler is a career .210 hitter in the Majors, so keep expectations to a minimum should they opt to go with the veteran.

In all honesty, I will miss watching Ty France play. Has his production been frustrating at times? Absolutely. It is such a shame to see his Mariners tenure end this way. The awkwardness of this situation leads me to think he will not be around much longer, even if he goes unclaimed.

As always, Go Mariners!