The Ty France era officially came to an end for the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

The Mariners traded France to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo and cash considerations, according to an official news release from the team. The Reds are picking up about $1 million of the $2 million he is still owed, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

Seattle started the process of moving on from France over a week before the trade. He was placed on irrevocable outright waivers on July 21. After clearing waivers — the Mariners designated France for assignment on July 23.

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the MLB and the MLB Players Association — Seattle had seven days after DFAing France to trade, release or send him to the minor leagues. He could have rejected an assignment to the minors.

The Mariners posted a video package on Twitter thanking France for his almost-four years with the team.

This season, France is batting .223 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. During his All-Star year in 2022 — France batted .291 with 18 home runs and 73 RBIs and helped Seattle break its 21-year playoff drought.

Salcedo this season is hitting .188 with four RBIs in seven games played with the Reds’ Low-A affiliate Daytona Tortugas this year. He’s been on the development list most of this season after spending portions of the last three years with the ACL Reds in rookie ball and Daytona. He was signed out of Colombia in 2019.

France will likely become the starting first baseman for Cincinnati and — according to a Tweet from Adam Jude of the Seattle Times — is going to the most hitter-friendly park in the league.

There have been 112 home runs hit at Cincinnati’s home field of the Great American Ballpark this season according to Baseball Savant.

It’s been all but guaranteed for over a week that France’s time in Seattle was over. And now he has a chance to potentially help another team get over the hump like he did with the Mariners. The Reds have made the playoffs just four times in the last 14 years and haven’t made it past the Divisional Series since 1995.

FRANCE COMMENTS ON BEING PLACED ON WAIVERS: Ty France, first baseman for the Seattle Mariners, took some time before a game on Monday to comment on the team’s decision on Sunday to place him on irrevocable outright waivers. CLICK HERE

MARINERS CALL UP TRIO OF PLAYERS: The Seattle Mariners called up infielders Tyler Locklear and Leo Rivas, outfielder Cade Marlowe on July 23 amid injuries and roster shuffling. CLICK HERE

MARINERS MAKE MAJOR ROSTER DECISION: The Seattle Mariners placed first baseman Ty France on irrevocable outright waivers on July 21. CLICK HERE

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady

It was a cooler Sunday with clouds to start the day, but the sunshine returned this afternoon. Highs only got into the upper 60s to low 70s, 10 degrees 

Clouds will increase overnight with showers slowly starting to move inland along the coast by 9:30pm. 

Overnight we will see more clouds and showers along the coast. Lows will be mild, only in the mid to upper 50s. 

Waking up on Friday, it will be WET by July standards! Rain will be moving throughout Western Washington through midday. 

FUTURECAST 7am (FOX 13 Seattle)

Advertisement

Temperatures will take a hit with this frontal system, bringing rain, but also the 60s. 

Clouds will continue through the evening, but rain will turn to more scattered showers. 

FUTURECAST 5pm (FOX 13 Seattle)

Rainfall totals will be highest along the coast and north interior with up to half an inch. The Seattle metro area could see up to a quarter of an inch. 

FUTURE Rainfall Totals ECMWF

Advertisement

This could make it the wettest July 29th on record, which is historically the DRIEST day of the year in Seattle.

The showers will taper through Tuesday morning, with drier skies by the evening hours. Clouds to start Wednesday, but the sunshine will return by the afternoon with highs in the 80s. Temperatures will be very summer-like with plenty of sunshine through Seafair Weekend!  

RENTON, Wash. – Undrafted rookies have odds squarely stacked against them to make an NFL roster, trying to scratch and claw for reps with established veterans and draft picks ahead of them on the depth chart and little to no margin for error when opportunity strikes.

It’s safe to say that rookies in general rarely arrive at their first NFL training camp with a head start on the rest of the competition, especially undrafted signees. But in yet another unconventional chapter in his anything but typical football story, Seattle Seahawks tight end Jack Westover has had everyone from quarterback Geno Smith to receiver DK Metcalf in his ear as the team learns new coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense, which the undrafted rookie starred in at Washington the past two seasons.

Thriving in Grubb’s offense, Westover evolved from a former walk-on into one of Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr.’s most trusted targets in clutch situations, catching 77 passes for 775 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 and 2023. Now, he’s trying to keep his NFL dream alive playing for the local team in an offense that he knows inside and out, which has made him a popular teammate in meeting rooms and on the field.

“I think the coolest thing for me is just being able to come in and have the respect of the vets, as far as the playbook goes X’s and O’s wise, just having that respect,” Westover said prior to Seattle’s third training camp practice. “Then obviously, having gone on the field and earned a different type of respect as far as playstyle, and so it’s been cool to be able to just have that conversation with them and have them just be open to it.”

Long before sporting a navy blue No. 89 practice jersey for the first time in May, eight years ago, Westover wasn’t even on the radar as a Division I football prospect. Known more for his basketball talents, he decided to give football another shot entering his senior year at Mount Si High School, located 25 minutes east of downtown Seattle.

Jumping right into the starting lineup at tight end, Westover made an immediate impact for the Wildcats potent offense. Unfortunately, his lone season with the program came to an abrupt end when he suffered a season-ending injury as he plowed over a defender at the goal line for a touchdown in the second game, preventing him from having an opportunity to emerge as a rising late recruit in the Pacific Northwest.

But Westover didn’t give up on his dream despite the adversity and thanks to his athletic profile and raw skills, he remained on the radar for several local programs. Rather than play for a smaller school and potentially transfer down the road, he chose to walk on at Washington, taking the challenging path of paying his own way to school with hopes of earning a scholarship.

Though he didn’t play in any games as a freshman with the Huskies redshirting him and he received some tough on the job lessons trying to block against future NFL defensive ends such as Joe Tryon on the practice field, Westover earned the Brian Stapp Special Teams Scout Squad MVP that year, setting the stage for him to see action in 2019.

“You definitely learn the hard way when you’re blocking Joe Tryon, who has seven foot wingspan, and then you’re just basically a basketball player at that point,” Westover laughed. “I’m coming in and just learning the game, but you definitely learned the hard way and I was able to go up against some really good defensive ends that wound up in the NFL.”

Packing on muscle to his frame during his time on campus and developing himself into a quality all-around player, Westover blossomed into a 250-pound tight end over the course of six seasons with the Huskies program. After struggling as a blocker early in his college career, with the extra work in the weight room paying dividends, he learned how to win at the point of attack despite lacking prototypical size and length for the tight end position.

“I knew I’m not gonna be able to block the same way as other tight ends because I’m a little shorter, not as long as them,” Westover added. “But I think being able to utilize my speed, my quickness, my feet, beating guys off the ball, getting my feet in the ground quicker than other guys, that’s something that I just had to understand. It had to be a strength of mine compared to the other way around.”

Along with growing into a competent blocker who could hold his own either as an inline tight end or an H-back, Westover continued to make a significant impact as a pass catcher, dropping just four passes on 114 targets and posting a 76.3 percent catch rate during five seasons. Playing a key role in Washington’s ascent to a national championship game berth, he caught five passes on six targets in a loss to Michigan, standing out as a bright spot in defeat while playing through an injury.

Recovering from ruptured ligament in his wrist, Westover didn’t participate in athletic testing at the NFL combine, but he returned to catch passes from Penix and run the 3-cone drill and short shuttle at Washington’s pro day on March 28. Going undrafted, it didn’t take long for the Seahawks to lock him up as one of their priority free agents, linking him back up with Grubb, who joined new coach Mike Macdonald’s staff as offensive coordinator in February after spending a few days in the same role at Alabama.

Living the dream as a hometown kid donning a Seahawks uniform, Westover’s presence has been notable since his first practice in May, as his experience in Grubb’s scheme has been evident during team drills. When he has had opportunities to work with Smith, the quarterback has shown plenty of confidence in him, and backup Sam Howell ended Friday’s practice session by finding him in the red zone period for a touchdown in the flats.

While Westover has been a welcomed resource for his new teammates due to his knowledge of the new offense, he has remained a sponge learning as much as he can watching how veterans Noah Fant and Pharaoh Brown handle their business on and off the field with intent and purpose. Both players have also been more than happy to answer questions and offer advice for the rookie along the way, making his transition to the next level “pretty smooth” thus far.

As an undrafted signee, Westover will have an uphill climb to make Seattle’s 53-man roster, especially with fellow rookie AJ Barner coming on board as a fourth-round pick out of Michigan. With most teams carrying three tight ends on the active roster, he will have to show out on special teams to improve his chances of landing one of the final spots, and a major litmus tests awaits with the first padded practice coming on Monday as he begins to test his mettle blocking NFL defenders.

But considering he wasn’t on anyone’s radar as an NFL prospect not that long ago and overcame no shortage of obstacles to reach this point with the Seahawks, Westover continues to take the experience in stride, thankful for the chance to battle for a spot on the team to begin with. Holding a unique advantage with his insight on Grubb’s offense, he’s confident he can execute as a receiver, blocker, and special teamer to the level necessary to make the team, and he’s excited to see how he stacks up as training camp unfolds.

“There’s not a lot of people that have my background, my story, not really playing high school football to walking on and making it to here. So just grateful.”