SEATTLE -- Evan White is heading to the 10-day injured list with a strained left hip flexor that he sustained while diving for a ball late in Thursday¡¯s 4-2 loss to Cleveland, and Ty France is joining him with left wrist inflammation that has lingered since Seattle¡¯s series in Houston two weeks ago.

Infielders Donovan Walton and Jack Mayfield were recalled from Triple-A Tacoma in corresponding moves announced by the Mariners on Friday.

Though White has struggled to get going offensively -- he¡¯s currently in a 3-for-42 skid -- the 25-year-old first baseman's absence will create a defensive void given the limited options to replace him. Jos¨¦ Marmolejos started there on Friday, but he¡¯s batting just .145/.274/.323 and has zero hits against lefties.

France would be the strongest fit, if he wasn't also injured. But he hasn¡¯t been the same since taking a 98.4 mph fastball from the Dodgers¡¯ Dustin May off the wrist -- though it was his other wrist -- on April 19. He¡¯s hitting .157/.263/.229 in 80 plate appearances since, with his OPS dropping from a team-best .936 to .700 over that stretch.

France, the Mariners¡¯ best contact hitter when healthy, has been hit by a team-high five pitches this season and was brushed back on a 98.3 mph heater headed toward his chin from Emmanuel Clase during the ninth inning on Thursday. He¡¯s 2-for-38 since the Houston series, and he¡¯s had visible struggles getting his barrel to the ball, with an onslaught of high popups since.

¡°I don't think anybody's throwing at him on purpose,¡± Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ¡°I don't think he feels that either. But he does cover the ball out away, and typically those guys get a few more pitches inside to keep them honest.¡±

Dylan Moore, who was the club¡¯s utilityman from 2019-20, has experience at first base, and his bat has gotten going in the past six games, over which he¡¯s gone 6-for-20 with two homers since start of the most recent road trip on May 7. It¡¯s likely he¡¯ll be used there soon since that would free up second base for Walton, a utility infielder. There¡¯s also a possibility Luis Torrens sees time there in a pinch.

Walton brings 12 games of big league experience, with a .172/.273/.207 slash line, and he was off to a 10-for-32 start at Tacoma. Mayfield has 49 games of MLB experience over three seasons, including 2021 with the Angels. He¡¯s a career .165/.193/.275 hitter and has eight years and 100 homers' worth of Minor League experience.

Breaking down the catching situation
Speaking of Torrens, he and Tom Murphy have had a nearly identical split behind the plate -- 163 2/3 innings and 164, respectively -- and the Mariners will continue to dictate playing time based on matchups.

Torrens had a major mental mistake that proved to be costly in a 9-8 loss on Sunday in Arlington. He's also been unable to block quite a few breaking balls in the dirt that have bounced through his legs, including one on Thursday on a third strike that put a runner on base and forced rookie Logan Gilbert to face an extra batter. As such, the newly-minted starter didn¡¯t get the chance to pitch an extra inning in his debut.

Murphy is the superior defender and play caller, but he has just a .364 OPS against righties and a .136/.197/.303 slash line overall. Torrens is hitting .198/.235/.333 with a .618 OPS against righties and a .452 mark against lefties.

¡°Murph¡¯s got really good history against left-handed pitching in the league,¡± Servais said. ¡°So, most of times and there's a lefty out there, I¡¯d like to give them that opportunity to see if you can get going and do a little damage there. But just kind of mixing and matching right now. I'd like to get one, or perfect world, get both of them going offensively.

¡°Right now, I¡¯m trying to get as much out of that duo as we can. So, you might give a guy three or four days in a row and see if I can get them kind of jump-started.¡±

Switch-hitting Cal Raleigh, the Mariners¡¯ No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is 6-for-25 with a homer and five RBIs in six games at Tacoma, and while he would seem like a strong fit to shake things up, a source indicated that he¡¯s a little further off. But, barring health issues, Raleigh will make his MLB debut at some point in 2021.