Three up, three down for the M’s on a heavy day.
The Seattle Mariners have announced that they’ve placed SS J.P. Crawford and OF Julio Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list with a right hand fracture and right high ankle sprain, respectively. They have also designated 1B Ty France for assignment after he cleared waivers without being claimed today. To replace them, Seattle has called up 1B Tyler Locklear, OF Cade Marlowe, and INF Leo Rivas. Additionally, technically, OF Jonatan Clase was optioned postgame Monday night and was recalled today.
The immediate implications are significant for Seattle’s starting lineup, as UTIL Dylan Moore will presumably take on the majority of the reps at shortstop in Crawford’s absence. Moore has been his usual self this season, putting up productive numbers thanks to excellent plate discipline and baserunning, along with above-average power numbers that come with a more tepid contact rate. He’s not the defender Crawford is at short, but it’s unlikely the M’s see Rivas as offensively worth the gamble to take on the role, and no other players in Seattle’s system before Cole Young down in Double-A have the combination of defensive chops and offensive production to even consider at short for more than stopgap purposes.
France’s departure is unsurprising but sad, given the jovial Californian’s several years of production, including a breakout 2021 to help push the M’s into contention and his All-Star season in 2022 as an integral reason that club broke The Drought. While the club called up Jason Vosler yesterday, it appears Locklear will indeed be given full-time responsibilities after all moving forward, a torch-passing forewarned by their placing of France on waivers this week. Whether these moves are season-long or weeklong will be determined by the M’s front office before the end of July 30th, and hopefully sooner.
Lastly is the return of Marlowe, whose numbers are disappointing in Triple-A as a 27 year old who actually held his own in the bigs last year. His season-long line of .235/.341/.395 does not inspire confidence, even with 43 steals in 50 attempts and 13 big flies. However, he’s been heating up recently, with scorching numbers in the month of July. He and Clase will have massive shoes to fill while Rodríguez is on the mend, as with both him and OF Dominic Canzone out, Seattle will be relying on one of them most nights alongside OF Luke Raley and Victor Robles, particularly given the interminable struggles of veteran Mitch Haniger.
As for how long Seattle’s two key contributors will be on the shelf, expect Julio back sooner than J.P. Crawford, seen walking through the clubhouse today with a wrap on his injured hand and a split stabilizing his pinky finger. In a pregame scrum Julio said while it’s hard to watch from the sidelines, he knows he can’t contribute to the team right now and has to focus on getting better. Right now, Julio is walking unimpeded, without aid of a boot or a crutch, but he’s feeling pain through his swing, as he pivots through his back foot during his rotation. While he could push through it, he knows that until he can swing with full aggression pain-free, he’s not 100%. “I personally didn’t think that was going to be the best thing for the team [trying to push through the pain], and I feel like, for all my teammates too, I respect them enough to know when I cannot do it, I cannot do it, and I feel I have to be honest about it.”
“I’ll tackle this recovery and get back as soon as I can.”
