The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Jason Vosler. Fellow infielder Ryan Bliss was optioned in a corresponding move. There was already a vacancy on the club’s 40-man roster due to right-hander Mike Baumann recently being designated for assignment and traded to the Giants.
Vosler, 30, signed a minor league deal with the M’s in the offseason and has been with Triple-A Tacoma all year so far. In 89 games with the Rainiers, he has hit 20 home runs and drawn walks in 8.4% of his plate appearances, striking out at a 21.6% clip. His .289/.357/.526 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 113 in the heightened offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.
Offense has been an issue for the Mariners all year, as they are hitting .218/.299/.367 as a team. That translates to a wRC+ 94, better than just nine clubs in the league. Seattle’s 28% strikeout rate is the worst in the majors by a significant margin, as the Athletics and Rockies are the nearest clubs at 25.7%.
Vosler has been playing the four corner spots this year and those are certainly positions where the Mariners could use some help. First baseman Ty France has a subpar line of .223/.312/.350 and 96 wRC+. The M’s are clearly willing to move on from him as he has reportedly been placed on waivers as the club hopes someone claims him for nothing but cost savings. Josh Rojas has been getting the bulk of playing time at third base and had a hot start but has since cooled, slashing .184/.269/.270 since May 15. In the outfield corners, Víctor Robles and Luke Raley have been doing well but Mitch Haniger is hitting .208/.287/.335 this year.
Ideally, Vosler will come up and give the lineup a boost. He’s played more first base than anywhere else this year and could simply take playing time away from France, who could perhaps wind up in the short side of a platoon. Despite his rough season overall, the righty-swinging France is still hitting .237/.356/.395 against lefties for a 123 wRC+, thanks to drawing walks at a 12.2% rate against southpaws compared to a 6.8% against righties.
Vosler hits from the left side and could perhaps shield France from right-handers. Vosler has slashed .303/.364/.590 against righties this year compared to .253/.339/.364 against lefties. But his defensive versatility will also give Scott Servais some flexibility in how he gets him into the lineup.
This will be Vosler’s third big league team of his career, as he has 97 games of experience with the Reds and Giants. He’s hit just .210/.279/.408 in the majors but has generally fared better at the Triple-A level. He has one option season remaining and can be sent down to the minors later without being exposed to waivers. He also has less than a year of service time and can stick around for a while if he puts up some decent numbers.
MagicOriole
Tyler Locklear?
Stevil
He’s apparently going to get more time in AAA, which isn’t a bad thing.
hllywdjff
Is this our trade deadline move?
Stevil
Yeah, they believe Jason Vosler is going to carry the offense!
hllywdjff
it wouldn’t shock me!
martevious
There have been several players released lately, around the league, with sub-.200 batting averages, with tons of strikeouts; I’m surprised the M’s haven’t gone after any of them since they fit the profile of the type of batter Dipoto seems to like.
C Us Sink
World Series here we come now!!
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
No Tyler locklear? Who else plays first with raley?
Littleman20
France is still on the major league roster for a few more days
hoof hearted
Vosler Does deserve a look and could be offensive upgrade over ty. Dylan moore can play first base. Robles has been a beast with the bat and on the bases, lately.
Polanco for Torres??
kjt404
Wow. Dylan Moore. The .205 hitter making first base everyday. That’s inspiring. At this point the Ms should be sellers. They’ve got no heart anyways, they’ve lost this division already. A big splashy deadline deal just drains the farm, and ends with Seattle missing the playoffs by one game…yet again.
C Us Sink
They have ZERO intention of making any splashy deadline deal. They’ll stand pat, and do nothing, all the while promising their fan base they have payroll flexibility to add at the deadline. All talk, and no action. Sell the team Stanton!!
King123
The J. Vo that started first base on Opening Day for the Reds last year.
spooky
Big long swing but Vosler has power
Kassiedog
JP should be the next waiver candidate. He’s been awful. I’d rather see Rivas called up from Tacoma or Young from Arkansas than watch Crawford flail away at hittable pitches.
BuddyBoy
You’ve lost your mind. Get real…
KcsMsFan
So other than Seattle fans’ inability to think logically over emotion… explain how he has lost his mind? JP has played just as poorly as both France and Polanco yet fans seem to think JP is untouchable and the others should be DFA’d. Make that make sense.
TheGr8One
JP is signed through 2026. You don’t just piss 2 years and 20 million away in baseball. Now it makes sense
Stevil
No, JP hasn’t played as poorly. He offers defense at one of the most important positions, he’s the team leader, and despite his struggles at the plate, he has a 4.4 P/PA. That has value most fans don’t see.
He absolutely is untouchable.
martevious
Untouchable? Only your stars are untouchable, and JP isn’t one of those. The closest the Mariners come to a “star” on offense is Cal.
Stevil
You really don’t understand what the Mariners have or how they think.
JP isn’t going anywhere.
Kassiedog
Great one, you put him on waivers hoping that some other team selects him and inherits the contract he isn’t living up to.
Stevil
Yeah, you don’t get it. Have a nice night.
Kassiedog
Good night stevil
TheGr8One
Kassie and no one’s going to do that so you’ve just pissed off a player you’re still married to lol
Kassiedog
Are you seeing something that I’m not Buddy Boy?
Big_Pete
It’s time to start bringing some kids up. Locklear at first, Packard in left field and Solak in right field. They are all batting near 280-310 and have an OBP of nearly 400. I don’t want to see the M’s trade away anyone for a rental or another journeyman bat that will go quiet the minute they arrive. We have a great pool of talent that are hungry in Tacoma. Let’s see what they’ve got.
chrisjaybecker
Historically Vosler does better at 3B and LF. He hasn’t spent much time at 1B. So this doesn’t mean we won’t see Bliss called up, too. I think Vosler’s 20 dingers at All Star Break are too tempting to pass on.
Stevil
They literally just optioned Bliss.
sea-mari-fan
Immediate M’s action should be to release Stanek. This guy is very shaky and will ruin more games for M’s. Jerry Dipoto doesn’t have the skill to get the right players.