The Seattle Mariners claimed former All-Star first baseman Ty France off outright waivers on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
If he clears waivers, the Mariners will have the option to assign France to the minor leagues, and France will have the option to decline the assignment based on his tenure.
The Mariners’ decision to trade comes as France is in the midst of the worst slump of his career as the team falls in the AL West standings. The 30-year-old France is batting .224/.313/.351 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 87 games. France, who has a career batting average of .264, was named to the Mariners’ All-Star team in 2022 with a .274 batting average/.338/.436 with 20 home runs and 83 RBIs. He is in his sixth MLB season.
Rookie Tyler Locklear will play first base. The former second-round draft pick is 6-for-30 with two home runs, three RBI and one stolen base in 11 MLB games this season.
Mariners looking to break out of stagnant offense
Seattle made the move after a major offensive slump and a tough battle with the Houston Astros for the American League West title. The Mariners are the worst hitting team in baseball with a .218 batting average and rank 28th out of 30 teams in runs scored. The Mariners’ 1,038 strikeouts are by far the most in baseball. The Oakland Athletics are second with 967 strikeouts.
Despite their offensive struggles, the Mariners started 44-31 and led the AL West by as many as 10 games before the All-Star break, then went 8-14 in their final 22 games before the break, allowing the Astros to get back into the championship race.
Houston beat Seattle in straight games back from the break to take the division lead, and the Mariners avoided the sweep by winning Game 3 of the series to tie for the division lead with the Astros on Sunday.
France started Sunday’s game on the bench but took one at-bat in place of Julio Rodriguez, who left the game late with a sprained ankle. X-rays of Rodriguez’s ankle came back clear.
The Mariners reportedly waived France immediately after the game.
