Seattle Mariners' first baseman Ty France spent a considerable amount of time at Driveline Baseball this offseason and says he's re-tooled his swing.
Per Jen Mueller of Root Sports on social media:
Ty France meeting with the media this morning. Said it was crazy to see how bad his swing was. Cleaning up his mechanics resulted in him adding almost 3.5 mph of bat speed.
The Mariners are counting on a big bounceback season from France, who hit just .250 last season with 12 homers and 58 RBI. France was an All-Star based on his first half of 2022 but has regressed steadily since then. Going to Driveline doesn't guarantee him success in 2024, but it proves his commitment to getting back to his previous level.
This offseason, the M's let go of Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suarez and Teoscar Hernandez, so France's improvement will be a big part of keeping the offense afloat. In addition, the team has added former All-Star Jorge Polanco, Mitch Haniger and Luke Raley into the fold.
France is a lifetime .270 hitter who was acquired by the Mariners during the COVID 2020 season in a deal with the San Diego Padres.
The M's went 88-74 last season and finished third in the American League West. They missed the playoffs by 1.0 game, in the final days of the regular season, and then watched the division-rival Texas Rangers ultimately win the World Series.
Seattle opens up the regular season on March 28 at home against the Boston Red Sox.
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