The Mariners placed France on irrevocable outright waivers Sunday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
France is now eligible to be claimed by the 29 other teams in the league, but if no team is willing to foot the bill on the money remaining on his $6.78 million salary for 2024, the Mariners can send him to the minors. That being said, France has the option to decline reporting to the minors as a result of his MLB service time. Additionally, there's a possibility that he clears waivers and remains a member of Seattle's roster, something that happened with the Blue Jays' Kevin Kiermaier earlier in July. France has produced a disappointing .223 average with eight home runs, 31 RBI and 28 runs scored over 88 games with Seattle so far this season. Tyler Locklear is expected to be called up from Triple-A Tacoma and will get full-time at-bats at first base, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.