Ty

France

France has already elected free agency. The 30-year-old first baseman has not been effective on a consistent basis after his breakout 2022 campaign, and was projected to earn over $7 million in arbitration. France will likely be looking at a prove-it deal for the 2025 campaign.

France drew a walk in the second inning, then gave Cincinnati a three-run lead with a two-run blast off Jared Jones in the third. It was his fifth home run since joining the Reds on July 31. The 30-year-old first baseman has hit .241/.313/.378 with 13 homers and 51 RBI across 515 plate appearances on the season.

France’s RBI double in the second inning off Charlie Morton was the only run scored in the entire game. Maybe he just needed a change of scenery. France is 37-for-118 (.313) with four home runs and 13 RBI in 35 games since coming to the Reds. He’s viable in mixed leagues once again. France is hitting .249 with a .714 OPS and 44 RBI on the year.

France’s homer was the only offense for the Reds on Thursday, but it was enough with Rhett Lowder and the Cincinnati bullpen blanking the Houston lineup. France has been streaky for his entire career, and he’s on the right side of that right now with 9 hits over his last 15 at-bats. The question is whether he can keep it going on a consistent basis; something he hasn’t done the last two years.

He’s 27-for-95 (.284) with three home runs and 10 RBI in 29 games since the Reds acquired France from the Mariners. France could be an option in deeper formats with the Reds having designated his platoon partner Dominic Smith for assignment. France got the start on Monday against the right-handed Justin Verlander and came through with a four-hit game, a sign that his playing time will increase going forward.

As anticipated, Smith will take a seat with left-hander Bailey Falter toeing the slab for the Pirates. It appears as though he and Ty France will operate in a straight platoon at first base for the time being, with Smith seeing the strong side of the action there. He could carve out some usefulness from a fantasy perspective in weeks where the Reds face a slew of right-handers.

The deal is pending a physical. Smith got off to a rough start with the Red Sox but was far more effective from July on, hitting .272/.330/.485 in 112 plate appearances since the beginning of July. However, with Triston Casas coming back, the Red Sox had to move on from Smith, so the veteran will go back to the NL. His presence in Cincinnati is not good news for Jeimer Candalerio’s potential return to the field in 2024 and means that Ty France is not a locked into at-bats as the starting first baseman as we had previously believed.

Well, that’s not the move we were expecting to make room for Amed Rosario on the Reds roster. It does make Rosario worth a look in mixed leagues, though. Ty France, who had seemed destined to lose playing time to Rosario, will likely remain the Reds’ primary first baseman for now.

This might be a one-day switch, since Spencer Steer is sitting out and Tyler Stephenson has moved from fifth to third. France has now started seven straight games for the Reds. He’s 5-for-22 with the two homers and two RBI to date.

The three previous games were all against lefties, so it was a given that he’d start in those. Today, he’s in the lineup against a righty for the first time since joining the Reds. That Will Benson is on the paternity list is probably playing a role here. France is off to a 1-for-12 start for his new team.