Ty France hit free agency at the start of the offseason when the Reds outrighted him off their 40-man roster. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that the former Mariner is open to catching opportunities as he fields interest from other teams. Feinsand adds that France has already received at least one guaranteed contract offer, though it’s not clear how many teams (if any) view him as a realistic option for work behind the plate.
France has never played catcher in an MLB or minor league game. He’s not wholly unfamiliar with the position though. As a member of the Padres early in his career, France took catching reps at the team’s alternate training site during the 2020 canceled minor league season. He was reportedly viewed as a potential emergency catcher in both San Diego and Seattle, though neither team ever got into a situation where they were compelled to use him.
At 30 years old with no in-game catching experience, France is probably no more than a third catcher or emergency option. It’d be a huge task for him to acclimate to the receiving and game-calling nuances for even semi-regular work at the position. Still, there’s little harm for France in expressing a willingness to entertain catching if a team offered him the opportunity.
France’s lack of defensive value is the biggest knock against him. While he has a bit of experience at both second and third base, he doesn’t have the quickness to play either position regularly. France played almost exclusively first base in 2024. He received poor defensive marks there as well. Defensive Runs Saved graded him seven runs below average, while Statcast estimated he was nine runs below par.
For a couple years, France offset that minimal defensive profile with a big performance at the plate. He combined for a robust .284/.354/.441 slash between the 2020 deadline deal that sent him to Seattle and the end of the ’22 season. His production dipped to a .250/.337/.366 line in 2023. The decline continued this year, as France got out to a .223/.312/.350 start before the Mariners designated him for assignment. A move to hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park didn’t spark his bat. France hit .251/.292/.391 in 52 games for the Reds.
FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each graded France’s 2024 performance below replacement level. That made it an obvious call for Cincinnati to decline to tender him an arbitration contract that likely would’ve topped $8MM. It wasn’t out of the question that France would be limited to minor league offers, but Feinsand’s report indicates there’s at least one team willing to give him an Opening Day job. That’d very likely be on a low base salary, potentially with incentives based on his games or plate appearances.
Sounds like a prime Cherington move for the Pirates.
For a couple years in Seattle he was like an All-Star hitter, don’t know what exactly happened but he’s a shell of himself now.
Last off season he started training at Driveline (JP Crawford did the year before and he had the best season of his career), but it seems he was always looking to hit a HR and pull the ball. That isn’t what made him an All-Star, when he hit the ball to all fields. He actually became a really good defensive 1B in Seattle, good arm, and more athletic than he looks. I wonder if he get the right coaching he could become a solid #2 catcher.
Seattle screwed up giving him 7 million for 2024
So he’s a poor defender who is willing to try playing the game’s most demanding defensive position?
It’s okay for a catcher to be slow and less than average hitter. Expected even
He was also seemingly not good at 1B either. It might be less of a long shot for him to try pitching.
Well come back to the padres San Diego kid
Tony Gwynn once proclaimed Ty France was the best student he ever had with the most promise, talent,etc.at San Diego State.
Sounds like someone the A’s could overpay to convince and play in Sacramento and appease other owners they are spending revenue sharing funds