The Mariners optioned Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Locklear will end up missing the cut for Seattle's Opening Day roster after going 4-for-18 with three RBI and three runs scored over 11 games in the Cactus League. The 24-year-old owns just a .535 career OPS in the majors through 49 plate appearances and will likely need to bounce back offensively in Triple-A before the Mariners consider bringing him back to the big leagues.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Hot bat since return to Tacoma
Rotowire
Locklear owns a .409 average and 1.162 OPS with a double, two home runs, five RBI, a walk and seven runs over the 23 plate appearances he's logged with Triple-A Tacoma since being optioned July 30.
The rookie's latest stint with the Mariners lasted just five games and 17 plate appearances, a stretch during which Locklear produced an .067 average and mammoth 47.1 percent strikeout rate. However, Locklear has looked right back in his element with the Rainiers, producing multi-hit efforts in three of his past four contests. While Justin Turner (hand) has taken a hold of the everyday role at first base since his trade to Seattle, it's still conceivable Locklear gets another look at the big-league level down the stretch if he continues to perform in a similar fashion at Tacoma.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Headed back to minors
Rotowire
The Mariners optioned Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday.
The team's trade of Ty France briefly cleared a path to playing time at first base for Locklear, but it quickly closed upon its acquisition of Justin Turner. Locklear will return to Tacoma, where he's put up an .887 OPS this season.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Dropping out of lineup Monday
Rotowire
Locklear is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.
Locklear will hit the bench Monday after going 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts against two walks while starting in four of the Mariners' first five games following his promotion from Triple-A Tacoma on July 23. Though an everyday role at first base opened up for Locklear when Ty France was designated for assignment last week, the 23-year-old could be on the outside looking in for playing time after the Mariners acquired Justin Turner from the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Turner should be a fixture in the lineup against both right- and left-handed pitching at either first base or designated hitter once he joins the team.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Headed back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Mariners optioned Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.
Locklear will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to second baseman Jorge Polanco (hamstring), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. The demotion doesn't come as a major surprise, as Locklear logged just three plate appearances while starting in only one of the Mariners' last six games following Ty France's return from the IL last Tuesday.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Losing out on work with France back
Rotowire
Locklear is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Locklear has stuck around with the Mariners following Ty France's (heel) return from the injured list ahead of Tuesday's series opener in Cleveland, but the rookie looks like he'll be in store for a drastic role reduction now that Seattle's top first baseman is back in action. After batting .222 with two home runs and a stolen base while starting in seven of the Mariners' subsequent eight games following his June 9 promotion from Triple-A Tacoma, Locklear now finds himself on the bench for the second day in a row.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Goes yard again
Rotowire
Locklear went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Sunday's 5-0 win over the Rangers.
Locklear has safely reached base in five consecutive games and has generated a hit in six of his eight big-league contests. The 23-year-old chipped in a solo home run off Jose Leclerc in the seventh inning, marking Locklear's second homer since being called up June 8. Locklear has started in all but one of Seattle's games since his promotion, filling in at first base for Ty France (heel), who's expected to return from the IL as soon as Tuesday.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: First career steal in loss
Rotowire
Locklear went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday.
The rookie was able to reach safely for the fourth consecutive game despite not getting a hit for the first time in that span, and he parlayed his one trip on the basepaths into his first career big-league steal. Locklear is still having trouble making consistent contact as he acclimates to major-league arms -- he's struck out at a massive 40.0 percent clip in his first 25 plate appearances -- but his impressive body of work at the plate over multiple levels of the minors suggests he has the ability to progressively turn things around in that department.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Notches first big-league homer
Rotowire
Locklear went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in an extra-inning loss to the White Sox on Thursday.
Garrett Crochet dominated Seattle with 13 punchouts over seven frames, and Locklear accounted for the only run against the hurler with a solo blast in the fifth inning. The long ball was Locklear's first as a major-leaguer and just his second extra-base hit of any type. Locklear has started four of five games since being called up June 9 and has hit .250 (4-for-16) with two runs and two RBI. He's struggled to make contact with a 35.3 percent strikeout rate thus far, and he could head back to the minors when Ty France (heel) is cleared to return, which could happen early next week.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Mariners have promoted Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma, Joe Doyle of FutureStarsSeries.com reports.
Locklear will report to Tacoma on Tuesday after slashing .291/.401/.532 with eight home runs over 188 plate appearances with Double-A Arkansas. The 23-year-old could potentially push to debut before the end of the 2024 campaign if he continues to perform well in his first taste of Triple-A ball.
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Mariners' Tyler Locklear: Thriving at plate in High-A
Rotowire
Locklear, the 58th overall pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, owns a .311/.419/.572 slash line with 25 extra-base hits and 37 RBI across 217 plate appearances with High-A Everett.
Those numbers are partly constituted off a career-high 11 home runs, and Locklear has also added the first seven steals of his minor-league tenure for good measure. Locklear has also walked at an elevated 12.4 percent clip, while his 22.1 percent strikeout rate is only a tick higher than the 21.8 percent figure he carried with Single-A Modesto against a lower caliber of competition during the latter portion of the 2022 campaign. The 22-year-old's success with the AquaSox thus far appears to have him on a path to logging time at two different affiliates for the second time in as many professional seasons, as a move to Double-A Arkansas at some point this summer wouldn't be particularly surprising.
