The Seattle Mariners tried desperately to upgrade their offense at the 2024 trade deadline as it lagged woefully behind the production of their brilliant starting rotation. They swung a big deal to land Randy Arozarena from Tampa while also bringing in veteran hitter Justin Turner.
Part of that roster improvement moving on from 3B Ty France, who was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in a somewhat overlooked deal for minor league catcher Andrew Saucedo. The consensus at the time was that the Mariners had not only wanted to upgrade from France’s 2024 production, but probably viewed him as a non-tender candidate at season’s end based on how his once-promising bat had cratered over the last year and a half.