Tyler Lawrence France (born July 13, 1994) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. France was an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 2022.

Amateur career

France attended South Hills High School in

West Covina, California West Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located east of downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is part of Greater Los Angeles Area, Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 109,501 ...

. After high school, he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

from 2013-2015 at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

. In 2013, he played summer college baseball with the

Bethesda Big Train The Bethesda Big Train is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of National Baseball Hall of Fame and ...

, for whom he was the team's Outstanding Hitter. In 2015, his junior season, he hit .336 with four home runs and 49 RBIs in 64 games, and finished his career at San Diego State with a .337/.428/.470 line across three seasons.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

The

selected France in the 34th round, with the 1,017th overall selection of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, and he signed with them for a $100,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. France made his professional debut in 2015 with the Low–A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States ...

, hitting .294/.425/.391 with one home run and 36 RBI. He split the 2016 season between the Single–A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

and the High–A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

, hitting .271/.387/.420 with 14 home runs and 73 RBI. He split his 2017 season between Lake Elsinore and the Double–A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

, hitting .278/.353/.373 with five home runs and 58 RBI. He split the 2018 season between San Antonio and the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

, hitting .267/.355/.464 with 22 home runs and 96 RBI. On November 20, 2018, the Padres added France to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. France opened the 2019 season back with El Paso. On April 24, he was called up to the major league roster for the first time. He made his debut on April 26; he hit a pinch hit single in his first at bat. France was called up again to the Padres big league club on August 16, 2019. At that time he was batting .399 with their minor league affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas. Although he had wanted to end his Triple–A season batting .400 he remained with the big league club for the duration of 2019 and ended .001 point shy of the elusive .400 mark. France made the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster to the start the 2020 season, marking his first appearance on an Opening Day roster. He was the starting

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

on Opening Day, which had been added to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

for the 2020 season due to the new

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

rules. He had one hit in four at-bats in the Padres' 7-2 victory over the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. On August 13, 2020, France was optioned to the Padres alternative roster to make room for shortstop

Jorge Mateo Jorge Luis Mateo (born June 23, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres. He made his MLB debut in 2020. Career New Y ...

Seattle Mariners

On August 30, 2020, the Padres traded France,

Taylor Trammell Taylor Walter-Lee Trammell ( ; born September 13, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Ya ...

, Andrés Muñoz, and

Luis Torrens Luis Alfonso Torrens Sáez (born May 2, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Chicago Cubs. He ma ...

to the

in exchange for Austin Nola, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Adams. In 23 games for Seattle, France hit .302 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI. In 2021, France slashed .291/.368/.445 with 18 home runs, 73 RBI, and 85 runs scored in 152 games. He tied for the major league lead in hit by pitch, with 27. On April 23, 2022, France recorded his first career five-hit game, going 5-for-6 with a home run in a game versus the Kansas City Royals. On April 25, France and

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed Miggy, is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins a ...

were awarded American League co-player of the week. France was named to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game as an injury replacement for

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is an 11-time Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star, three-time American League (A ...

. He made 140 total appearances for Seattle in 2022, hitting .274/.338/.436 with 20 home runs and 83 RBI. On January 13, 2023, France agreed to a one-year, $4.1 million contract with the Mariners, avoiding salary arbitration. In 2023, he hit .250/.337/.366 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI, leading the majors in hit by pitches (34). On January 11, 2024, France and the Mariners agreed to a contract worth $6.775 million for the 2024 season. On June 8, 2024, France surpassed Edgar Martinez to become the Mariners' franchise hit by pitch leader with 90. On July 21, the Mariners placed France on outright waivers due to his struggles on offense throughout the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. After clearing waivers on July 23, France was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

Cincinnati Reds

On July 29, 2024, the Mariners traded France to the

in exchange for Andruw Salcedo. In 52 games for Cincinnati, he slashed .251/.292/.391 with five home runs and 20 RBI. On November 1, France was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, but rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Minnesota Twins

On February 15, 2025, France signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the

. He delivered a walk-off single against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on April 16, 2025. France had his second walk-off hit of the season, a home run this time, against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

on May 23, 2025.

Personal life

France and his wife, Maggie, married in January 2022. On April 6, 2024, she gave birth to their first child, a baby boy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:France, Ty 1994 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Downey, California Cincinnati Reds players El Paso Chihuahuas players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Minnesota Twins players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players San Diego State Aztecs baseball players Seattle Mariners players Tri-City Dust Devils players