Mariners recent roster moves see a catcher shuffle and potential first base logjam
The Mariners had a roster decision to make with Ty France progressing from a heel fracture, and they made the right choice by DFA'ing Seby Zavala
Ty France was one of the Mariner's hottest hitters before he went on the injured list with a fractured heel on June 9th. Luckily for the Mariners, it was a minimal stay on the injured list. Over the last 28 days, France has a slash line of ..296/.441/.537 with 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, and 10 walks in 17 games played in that span. It will be a welcome site for the Mariners to have Ty France back.
The Mariners have DFA'd Zeby Zavala and activated Ty France from the IL
Seby Zavala was acquired in the offseason in the Eugenio Suarez trade. Honestly, Zavala should have been DFA'd weeks ago. In the last 14 days, he has only played in one game and only had 2 plate appearances. On the season he has a slash line of .154/.214/.282, that bat just hasn't been there. I am sure someone will pick Zavala because he does bring good defense behind the plate. But he was expendable to the Mariners with Raleigh catching most of the games.
With Zavala gone, that means Mitch Garver will likely be catching once a week which he has already started to do over the past few weeks. Catching once a week should give Garver more of a sense that he is contributing if his bat is not. But lately, it has. Over the last 14 days, Garver has a slash line of .194/.405/.548 with 3 home runs, 8 RBIs 11 walks, and 8 K's. He has one of the better hitters on the team and it's something the Mariners definitely needed from Garver
With Zavala being DFA'd it also showed that the Mariners want to keep Tyler Locklear and his glove and bat in the big leagues, which I am very happy about because he is exciting to watch. I think Locklear will get some time at 1B, 3B, and DH. The next move the Mariners will have to decide on is when Jorge Polanco returns and if they send Ryan Bliss to Tacoma or if they DFA someone like Victor Robles.