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Mariners Monday Mailbag: Trades, offseason moves, and a premonition about Ty France
The latest mailbag is here, and we go through and answer some questions about the Mariners as they approach the trade deadline
In a series most of us were dreading, the Mariners were able to salvage one game as they officially watched their ten-game division vanish. Now in a virtual tie, the Mariners have some tough decisions to make before next week's trade deadline, and they have already begun the process. With another frustrating week in Marinersville, I try to answer some of our mailbag questions as August is just around the corner.
Are we going to make a run or is it the status quo for the rest of the season? If nothing happens at the deadline are we going to do something in free agency? From Just a regular Viking
What has happened to the Seattle Mariners' lead in the AL West is historically bad. It took just 24 games for the Astros to erase Seattle's 10-game lead, and while this massive series to start the second half of the season was disappointing, they still are tied (technically in 2nd) in first place after salvaging the final game of the series against the Astros.
So now the Mariners and the Astros are tied with 61 games to go. With a wildcard spot not guaranteed for the loser of this race, and a week to go till the trade deadline, I can't see how Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander don't at least try to “make a run”.
The potential Julio Rodriguez injury makes things a bit uneasy, but that can't keep leadership from not trying to find 2-3 additions to fortify a playoff run. Now will they be able to find 2-3 impact players in such a tight playoff race league wide? That remains to be seen. Dipoto hinted this could be difficult in his Brock and Salk interview last week.
If the team were to stay status quo, they will lose the AL West and miss the postseason. I truly believe missing the playoffs will lead to a leadership change on multiple levels as well.
When the playoffs are missed again, what moves WILL be made this offseason? From Ryan Zborlaski
Love this fan's confidence, but it's hard not to see what the majority of the fanbase feels right now. As I said, missing the playoffs will likely lead to major changes. With no extensions yet for Servais and Dipoto, I would bet that both would be gone, likely taking over a new club.
So this definitely makes it murky on predicting moves in the offseason, but that doesn't mean we can't look ahead at the free agency group.
First base looks loaded with guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, and Rhys Hoskins. Any of these guys look like a massive upgrade over what Ty France provided the past two years.
The Mariners will not enter the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but they can look to the outfield group to upgrade the lineup. Tyler O'Neill, Michael Conforto, Jurickson Profar, and Anthony Santander could all be sizable upgrades to this team that absolutely has to build around Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh.
Besides Juan Soto, the most talented free agent will be Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaski, but he's all but guaranteed to be a Dodger.
If the Mariners, whether it's Dipoto or someone else, can attract free agents, look to Luis Castillo to be a potential trade chip to bring in multiple young hitters who are ready to get a shot at the big league level. If Seattle simply can't be a free-agent player, they need to take advantage of their pitching depth to bring in controllable hitters.
4 days off Mariners still awful - From Billy Burleson
I'm not sure if that was a question, but yeah, they kinda still look like the same team we've seen for the last 27 games. They have another week to make changes, then it'll be a 50+ game sprint with Houston.
Do you see the Ms moving on from France and giving Locklear a shot? From Matt Richardson
To be honest, I had this answer already written up. I originally wrote that I thought Seattle would give Ty France through the Angels series, before making a trade or giving Locklear the reins. After a rewrite thanks to a Seattle Mariners level Passan Bomb, we got our answer about an hour after the game.
The Ty France era is over in Seattle sadly.
It's been a rough two years for France. An all-star in 2022, Ty legitimately should have been the starting first baseman for the American League, but didn't have the popularity votes over Vladimir Guerrero y, who was having a down year, relative to his standards.
France was slashing .308/.376/.470 and an OPS+ of 140. Injuries started to take its toll, and France was unable to ever come remotely close to his all-star form. Since May 31st, France has only 16 hits, with just six doubles and one home run. Unfortunately, it's just time.
So does this mean the future is now for Tyler Locklear in Seattle, or is this a showcase for a young prospect with some potential 1B trade candidates likely on the move?
It's extremely rare to find a young first baseman, let alone a rookie, playing at that position in a pennant race or in the playoffs. You have to go back to rookie Cody Bellinger in the 2017 World Series as the last time a player that young, both age and experience, was playing at that position in the World Series.
I like Locklear and think he's got a great chance to be a real piece for the future in Seattle, but timing is everything in life, and the timing does seem odd. There are multiple sluggers out there right now that could be had in trade talks who could immediately step in and be one of the better hitters in this lineup. There's one player specifically, north of the border, that could immediately alter the dreams and expectations of this team’s hopes of hanging some banners in 2024.
Is this a tryout for Locklear, or as Passan tweeted, the gig is his. I believe the guy is his, for the next 6 games, but I believe a trade is coming soon, and may very well likely involve Locklear leaving to make room for a “dynamic” addition.