The Mariners announced today that they have agreed to a new, multi-year contract extension with general manager Jerry Dipoto. The former MLB reliever had been in the final season of the deal that he originally inked to run the baseball operations for the Seattle organization.
Terms of the new pact were not publicly released by the team. It’s not clear, then, just how long into the future Dipoto will remain under contract. But the announcement did make clear that it’s for multiple years, so presumably he has at least signed on through the 2020 campaign.
Dipoto, previously the GM of the Angels and interim GM of the Diamondbacks, took the helm in Seattle before the 2016 season. Jack Zduriencik held the post prior to Dipoto’s arrival. As the club notes in its announcement, the Mariners have MLB’s eighth-best record (220-192) since Dipoto came on board.
While the M’s have yet to reach the postseason — a dry spell that dates back to 2001 — they finally seem primed to do so this year. Indeed, the club is surprisingly keeping pace with the defending World Series champion Astros in the AL West, though it’d remain quite a surprise if Houston doesn’t find some separation by season’s end. Though the Mariners still have some work to do to capture a Wild Card, they entered play today with a 7.5-game lead over the Athletics.
Dipoto says the ultimate goal remains a World Series. Though that has yet to be achieved, the club obviously determined that Dipoto remains the best option to deliver the hoped-for result.
President/CEO Kevin Mather offered this assessment:
“Jerry arrived here two-and-a-half years ago with a specific plan for our franchise. He has successfully executed that plan, resulting in a younger, more athletic and, most importantly, far more successful Major League team.
At the same time, he has upgraded nearly every aspect of our overall baseball operation, improving systems, staff and communication in our Major League operations, our Player Development system, our Pro and Amateur scouting departments and our revamped High Performance Area.”
The youth and athleticism to which Mather refers are certainly themes that Dipoto has emphasized. In that pursuit, Dipoto has earned a reputation as the game’s most active GM on the trade market. We’ve tried to keep up with his prolific swapping in our Transaction Tracker, which reflects a bevy of deals (some significant, some not) since he joined the organization.
While critics have argued that those deals, in the aggregate, have not greatly increased the talent base in Seattle, the M’s feel they’ve boosted their overall quality while increasing flexibility and control. Certainly, Dipoto has not shied away from unique swaps in search of value. Among his most interesting swaps are the acquisition of Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger; the two–step swap that netted the club Drew Smyly; the takeover of the contract of Mike Leake; the position-changing addition of Dee Gordon; and, most recently, the early-season strike for Denard Span and Alex Colome.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hooray! Good day in Seattle!
Dealin Dipoto gets Dealt a new Deal
“The Mariners announced today that they have agreed to a new, multi-year contract extension with general manager Jerry Dipoto.
More to come …”
Over or under 0.5 trades made by Dipoto after the “More to come….” is complete.
Over
I do like the Mariners, so don’t want this taken wrong.. Wasn’t that long ago many of their fans were calling for his being fired and curious to see how many of those here post just the opposite now.
Nothing really changed, except they are playing well and some deals he made which were panned by some have actually worked out, tho not all.
Ok, so its not just me. I came to the comments expecting a slam session.
Never called for him to be fired. Questioned “some” of his deals, but always had 100% percent faith in him.
When Dipoto took over, the Mariners roster was an absolute mess, because Jack Z is just delusional. He’s built this roster like he envisioned when he took over, and it’s phenomenal. The way they’re playing, he deserved an extension. Scott is next.
Some of the keys pieces of this roster (Seager, Paxton, Cruz, and to a lesser extent Cano) were added under Z. Dipoto did his usual thing of destroying a farm system to construct a team that won’t win a WS. SEA has an average offense and defense but have a great record due to luck in 1 run games. Dipoto has traded Cishek, CT3, and Montgomery for a sack of marbles. The Walker trade would look a lot worse if Walker didn’t get hurt. The Gohara trade also still has a chance to once again bite Dipoto.
The Walker trade would look good for Seattle even if he was the Diamondbacks best pitcher right now.
You’re really complaining about the Cishek trade? He had 3 months left on his contract and Dipoto got a starter/swingman with 2 years of control in return. Suggesting the Walker trade would look worse is laughable, because it didn’t look bad to begin with.
No GM gets it right every time. But look where the organization is now. They have few holes and lots of control, with internal options in the upper minors that should start contributing soon (Warren, Armstrong, Perez, Miller, Bishop, Filia, etc.), and though they have few starting pitching prospects, they have Paxton, Leake, Gonzales, and LeBlanc for 2-5 years. Felix comes off the books after next season which will free up considerable cash, and since you mentioned Jack’s contributions, keep in mind that he backloaded the deals for Felix and Seager, which hasn’t made Jerry’s job any easier.
Jerry still has work to do, but the MLB team is getting stronger and deeper, and we’re seeing the results. Worth noting that switching Diaz to closer came under Jerry’s watch and that’s been a huge reason for the 1-run wins, not luck.
People who love trades are happy
Where are all those Dipoto bashers now?
In Anaheim.
Not a huge fan of Dipoto as an M’s fan. He has made a bottom 5 farm into arguably the worst in 3 years. Worth it for a 2nd WC sure, but lots of one run game luck and clutch performances have fueled this team, while we are really on the same level as TB, OAK, and LAA. Trading Enyel De Los Santos, Freddy Peralta, Pablo Lopez, and Gohara really stings. Not to mention numerous other prospects. Very few impact prospects in our system, so we can contend this year, probably next to an extent, then yikes. Dipoto has taken a significant part of our future away, but fortunately we will likely be lucky enough to steal a 2nd WC
So he made a bottom 5 into a… bottom 5? And if the minor leaguers are bringing in solid, successful major league pieces, then he’s done his job, correct? And we’re not “stealing” a 2nd WC, we’re 24 games above .500. We clearly aren’t on the same level as TB, and LAA, it’s pretty clear the Mariners are better than them. And yeah, trading those guys hurt. But it’s not like Dipoto is the only one to make those kind of trades…
He made an awful farm system worse basically, even though he has had 3 drafts/ international signing periods to improve. We are also on pace to be the clutchest team in history
fangraphs.com/blogs/the-mariners-are-trying-to-be-…
And comparing first half vs second half clutch scores shows a r^2 correlation of 0.00, meaning it is entirely luck that we are on pace to be the clutchest team. By record we are clearly better than TB, OAK, and LAA, but we aren’t head and shoulders ahead of them based on Run differential and BaseRuns. You can’t give Dipoto credit for the luck, but you can give him credit for turning us into a team that looks the part of a contender for the 2nd WC, all while depleting a farm system
Fangraphs can say what they like, but SABR says clutch is a myth.
research.sabr.org/journals/the-statistical-mirage-…
So does fangraphs lol. You obviously didn’t read anything I wrote
*Most clutch. Clutchest is not a word using proper English. Yes, I’m that guy.
The difference between the 25th worst system and the 30th is very small.
True, but in 3 years you have plenty of time to draft/sign guys internationally, so you can reasonably expect to be an average system 3 years after a bottom 5, unless you trade away so many prospects
So are you aware that every other team has had the same amount of drafts/international signing periods? It’s ridiculous to say that because Dipoto had 3 drafts that the farm system should go from bottom five to anywhere more than that solely based on drafting. Every other team has had the same opportunity to add talent, so why should the mariners farm system climb the rankings? Some seriously flawed logic you’re using.
What? So you think if you have a bottom 5 system, it will stay that way because everyone has the same number of drafts? And you think that’s sound logic? What happened to regression to the mean? What if i said that Dipoto came in with say the 27th ranked farm. 6 years from now, according to your logic, they can reasonably expect to be ranked 27th.
My logic was that guys who were prospects in 2014,2013,2012 are (for the vast majority) big leaguers or retired or now and really don’t impact a teams current farm system ranking. Probably 75% of a team’s prospects, and really all the elite ones were drafted in the last 3 years. Nobody is saying “who’s that really, really good pitching prospect we drafted in 2013”. Maybe a late bloomer.
Look at the Angels system. Two good drafts, good international signings. Worst farm to average.
It also got that bad with the same number of drafts and international signings, so you’re the one with flawed logic
Has he actively been trying to improve the farm? Obviously his mandate when he was hired was to put a winning product on the field. How do you expect him to vastly improve a farm system while also trying to put better talent on the field with the big club? I get you don’t like Dipoto so you’ll just keep arguing against him with crap logic, so feel free to keep being an eternal pessimist about everything he has done and will do in the future. It’s hilarious that you can’t even admit how much better he has made the big league club since he’s been here. You trying to say that the Walker trade only looks good because he’s hurt is all the proof I need that you’re nothing more than an idiot. If you’re actually an M’s fan maybe try enjoying that they’re actually a decent team and fun to watch for the first time in a long while. And I could care less if we have a bottom 5 farm system as long as he keeps the Mariners competitive.
Calling me an idiot and a pessimist with crap logic is childish, and proves nothing. Try arguing logically! I’m of the opinion that he has made us into an okay team for a couple seasons (our run differential is only 4 above LAA and 11 above OAK) that will be followed by a long drought by destroying the farm. I don’t expect him to improve the farm while building a club, obviously. I just can’t give him credit for that much luck. I don’t mind people disagreeing, it’s inevitable in talking about any ballclub, but sheesh. Cut the childish arguments
The big club is obviously better, but not by a whole lot, and not for very long. Comes at the cost of the worst farm in baseball. Not worth it to me, but if that’s cool with you, fine enjoy the ride like I am while it lasts.
They’re 23 games above .500 but all you can muster is that they’re ok? The only argument you bring up is run differential. Who cares if we blow out bad teams to pad that stat? Winning is winning, no matter how hard you try to argue the opposite. And why will they only be ok for not very long? Who besides Cruz, Cano, and Felix is aging or not under control for multiple years?? Not to mention that Félix and Cano haven’t been much help this season. I guess some people just can’t bring themselves to enjoy success.
So you would rather have a bad major league team but have a bunch of highly rated prospects with no idea how they’ll turn out? Ackley, Hultzen, Franklin, Clement, do I need to go on listing the failed prospects from our once highly touted farm system? Prospects are just that, prospects. I’d rather have a solid major league team that is winning than a bunch of kids with no idea if they’ll actually become solid major leaguers.
You don’t really understand my argument. Based on Run differential and baseruns we are 48-41&47-42. The clutch performances are nothing more than luck and have been proven to be so by studies. We haven’t played like a team 23 games above .500, yet we are. I can’t give Dipoto credit for luck. We should be more of an 86 or so win team based on performance, yet luck has dictated we will probably end up winning somewhere in the 90s easily.
I give Dipoto credit for a mid-80s win team at the cost of a weak system. There’s always the possibility of ackley, hultzen, Montero, etc. but there’s also the Astros, cubs, etc
Preller traded Santos also
I bet he wishes he could have that trade back
That goes for 99% of his trades
Remember that he’s made our big league club a lot younger and more controllable, so there’s time to rebuild the minor league system. Segura, Herdia, Diaz, Haniger, Healy, Gamel, Pazos and Marco Gonzalez are all controlled at least through 2022 and Dee Gordon is controlled through 2021..
Healy has a 0.0 WAR, heredia is a pretty good 4th OFer, Segura has a 5/$70 contract which is his market value, we already had Diaz/Paxton. Turning O’Neil into Gonzales was good, not exactly robbery. Haniger was an absolute steal, although losing walker stings a little. Gamel/Pazos solid finds, like having Gordon around for sure.
We also lost Chris Taylor, De Los santos, neidert, gohara, peralta, Lopez along with numerous other prospects.
We have performed to a 25 run differential in a peak season of tearing down a farm system. I’m not exactly thrilled. Although clutch- ( completely by luck) has been a nice change and should get us to the playoffs
In your honest opinion, do you think Tyler O’Neil is a better option than Span/Gamel? And do you think Gohara is a better option than Leblanc? Do you think Lopez is a better option than Gonzalez? I’m personally not trying to say is one is better than the other, I’m just wondering what you think.
I’d trade O’Neill for Gamel and span in a heartbeat. Span is an expensive rental (we could debate if his trade value is over/under zero) and I’ll take a top 100 prospect over Gamel any day of the week. Gohara looks like a top 50 prospect and I’d take him over Leblanc- (who has way over performed his periferals) any day as well. Although Leblanc may have more value ROS. Remember, Darvish was traded for a top 50 prospect.
I’ll take Gonzales over lopez easily.
None of these scenarios proves anything though.
Correction, I meant I’d take O’Neill over span/Gamel in a heartbeat
Not all M’s fans agree with this person. Who cares about the farm system bro?!!!! Maybe one day we can build up to #1 and be the worst in all of baseball at the major league level just for you, but right now enjoy the ride. Cause it dont come around that often.
Jerry’s never been one to stand still in a situation that called for panic….Nah, he’s been pretty good, tho I really do think he does some things just to do them….he’s had his misses but all the good ones have…see Theo= Carl Crawford, Julio Lugo, Jason Hayward, etc……..
Luhnow throwing away 2 1-1 draft picks, trading for Liriano. etc
Dumping JD Martinez!
it really is amazing that they blew on not just one, but TWO NUMBER 1 picks, and as icing on the cake they used to have a top 3 hitter in JD Martinez, although he really was a different player then. And they still won a world series!
Luhnow got Bergman for not signing Aiken… that worked out just fine
Exactly, and I’ll take a hit with Correa and a miss with Appel if you give me 2 #1 picks all day long.
Dealin’ Dipoto and his Merchant Mariners sail again! Terrorizing every organization’s player economy. They’re like Vikings, but they raid with swarms of trade proposals.
To celebrate, He’s gonna make a trade later this week.
Would absolutely not surprise me.
I’m surprised that a trade wasn’t part of the signing bonus.
I love this!
Heard Padres extending Preller lol
Who the hell wants to be a ‘Lame Duck’! Kudos to Seattle.
People that hate him… How the hell do you hate trades!
Jerry’s the man, extension well-deserved, Fyi SEA is in it
People can hate on Dipoto all they want, but he’s probably a good candidate for GM of the Year. As a Mariners fan for the last 40 years, I’m just happy we no longer have Bavasi or Zduriencik running things. The playoff drought has gone on far too long.
Well deserved extension
Say Goodbye to your farm system. Ask the Angels.
They never had one to begin with. He’s done a fine job anyways
A few points after reading some of the comments above:
1) Jerry has gone about his business in improving the big club with young, athletic and controllable players. The trades he’s made have shaped the face of the M’s for years to come: Haniger, Segura, Gordon and others ARE the Mariners of the future. If you don’t think this team is LOADS more talented than what he inherited or what’s been put on the field for years, then you have not been watching or paying attention. THIS is a GREAT, FUN ballclub that is playing together as a team. It’s awesome to watch day in and day out. As a fan, I couldn’t be more pleased or entertained.
Which leads me to this:
2) If you think all these one-run games are just luck and that the luck will run out, you’ve not been watching what I’ve been watching. You’re wrong. They’re winning because they’re talented. They’re winning because they’re playing for each ther as well as for us. They’re also winning because our bullpen and closer are incredible, and the offense continues to grind in late innings. WATCH the team. GET a clue.
3) Jerry will continue to build the big club. but NOW he’s in a position to start building our farm WHILE HAVING A GOOD MLB PRODUCT AT THE SAME TIME.
Of course he’s traded some of our prospects in order to have an MLB club worth watching. He and the new ownership told us from the beginning that they felt we as fans deserved to have them NOT tear the team down to start over. They wanted us to enjoy baseball now, so they’ve built the club from what resources they had in the minors. NOW that they’ve done that, they can also start building our farm system back into something worth while.
I’m going to enjoy watching GOOD, FUN, EXCITING BASEBALL for a change while they do that.
I’m GRATEFUL for the way they pulled things off so that we don’t have to wait.
So many M’s fans are so used to complaining, they don’t know how to enjoy what they have without whining about what they don’t.
Too bad.
Well, they are very lucky and here’s some facts to back it up… They are on pace to be the clutchiest team in recent baseball history, (since at least 1974, 1350 team seasons in the study). Their score is nearly 20% higher than all but one team in the quantified study:
fangraphs.com/blogs/the-mariners-are-trying-to-be-…
Also, this is clearly unsustainable, since first and second half clutch scores over a 15 year fangraphs study had an R^2 correlation of exactly 0.00, so the clutch score the Mariners have put up has been entirely luck:
fangraphs.com/blogs/why-we-feel-how-we-feel-about-…
There is really no reason whatsoever to believe they can maintain this pace of clutch performances, when a pretty dang detailed study (450 examples showing a correlation of 0.00) has proven otherwise.
They’re still a very good team, just not this good.
Or what about this concept:
Maybe the Mariners have been the most “Unluckiest” team in MLB in 2016 & 2017 with all those tons of 1-run loses … the MOST in MLB during that time span!
The only problem the Mariners have had has been keeping our rotation off the DL in 2016 and 2017.
I have a gut feeling Seattle is going to land one of either: Happ/Hamels or maybe Degrom if they give up Lewis++. And I have a gut feeling they will be one of the 1st MLB teams to actually implement a 6-man rotation. Other GMs have talked about that, but never have gone through with it.
They aren’t landing degrom
You must have repeated yourself 20 times. You keep suggesting the Mariners have been lucky. They have a shut-down closer who does his job. That’s not luck, that’s the way they’re built. They’re a team that can hold 1-run leads late and score a couple when they need to.
Your argument would carry more weight if you cited the general health of their rotation. But even health is an issue Dipoto addressed during the off season with a director of high performance.
Regarding the farm and trades, he has had his misses. But he has a solid team under considerable control and pieces in the upper-minors to fill in the scheduled gaps. There’s not a lot of work to do on the active roster, so he has bought the organization time to restock the farm.
Meanwhile, he has a team that’s contending. It’s OK to enjoy it!
I’ve been a Dipoto fan from Day 1. If you can pull up all my past post you would see that! Here’s a couple things:
1. Bavasi decimated our farm system in attempts to save his job.
2. Z inherited a Farm mess. “All” of Z’s draft picks after Bavasi were all promoted up to the Majors and just would NEVER live up to their potential. And to think Z could have picked Mike Trout in the draft, but go look at his selection higher up in Round 1 that was a flop out of the gate.
Now what about Dipoto?
1. Dipoto inherited a Farm Mess just like Z did from the get go.
2. Dipoto flipped our entire roster over focusing on high OBP players.
3. He focused on outfield defense, but the guys he picked up didn’t live up to their career defensive UZR.
4. He has been able to put together one of the best bullpens each year.
5. In 2017, he focused on improving our speed on the bases, since we were losing so many 1-run games every year (the most in MLB).
6. The past 3 years Seattle has had one of the top offensive teams in MLB.
The “ONLY” problem in 2016 & 2017? Our entire rotation couldn’t stay off the DL in the 1st Half, and even more DL stints in the 2nd half.
Our Farm has been pretty stagnant over the past 3 years, but Dipoto has also brought a number of quality pitchers up from our Farm. i.e.: Diaz coming up from AA, and bypassing AAA. Yes I’d love to have top farm system, but if Dipoto can keep high OBP players with great Defense on the field, a great BP, best speed on the bases, and a somewhat decent rotation … I’d be happy!
Hail Dipot0
I am going off script a little but it does have to do with winning 1 run games. You guys and your fangraphs this and sabr that. There is some merit to it but you also hold to the fact that chemistry means nothing to a team. Did any of you watch the game last year I think it was they celebrated the 116 win season? Every player they had in the booth talked about team chemistry. You can ignore the players that play the game and bury your heads on a book and be wrong. Just like the 1 run games you can bury your heads in a book and not watch the game I mean truly watch the game. Watch the way the players react to each other how they have fun with each other. Watch that part of the game. To really see how this team cares about each other. There is more to a team than hitting and catching. This team has it they like each other. I have played on teams that didn’t like each other and we were more talented than our record.
Stat nerds don’t know how to quantify chemistry so they just dismiss it out of hand as having zero impact and being a myth. All while clinging to stats to try and prove luck. Must be fun not just enjoying good baseball.
Now that DiPoto is under club control for an extended period of time, don’t be surprised if he trades himself to another club… The Mariners could get a decent haul back for him…