Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto understandably regrets the deal that sent Chris Taylor to the Dodgers,telling Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times that “it’s clearly the worst deal I’ve ever made.” The veteran baseball executive surely had little reason to expect Taylor to break through as he has, but he still says he “whiffed” by parting with such a controllable player for a pitcher (Zach Lee) that has not worked out.
More from out west:
- He is playing for the Dodgers in the World Series, but Joc Pederson might conceivably not remain in Los Angeles beyond the present season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. There are alternatives on hand, particularly in light of Taylor’s emergence, and the Dodgers could also look to add other pieces. Of course, the Los Angeles front office has thrived on ensuring plenty of depth and surely won’t just give Pederson away despite his struggles in 2017, though surely there’d be quite a few teams intrigued at the idea of buying low on Pederson’s powerful bat. Sherman also notes that the Dodgers were in on Yulieski Gurriel before he landed with the Astros, though Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman says his team never formally bid on the Cuban star.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan looks at some recent Rangers players currently slated to hit the open market. As he notes, veteran knuckler R.A. Dickey could conceivably be a consideration for a reunion, though it’s not clear that the team will suit Dickey’s geographical preferences. More intriguingly, perhaps, Sullivan adds that Miles Mikolas — who excelled in Japan after leaving Texas — has left the Rangers “highly intrigued.” Elsewhere, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News analyzes the team’s options at first base. Ronald Guzman could be an option alongside Joey Gallo, notes Grant, perhaps leaving the team interested in acquiring a part-time, right-handed-hitting option to join the mix.
- First, the Rangers will have to decide upon a qualifying offer for righty Andrew Cashner. Despite some prior indications that the team might issue one, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports that’s not likely at this point. Similarly, says Heyman, the Reds are “leaning against” a QO for shortstop Zack Cozart — though the team is said to be willing to pursue a multi-year deal in free agency.
- The Athletics may be looking into some intriguing extension possibilities, Heyman further reports. Young standouts Matt Olson and Matt Chapman appear to be in the team’s sights. While neither is really even approaching arbitration, let alone free agency, perhaps Oakland will look to find value by making an early-career guarantee or two over the winter to come. Otherwise, says Heyman, the A’s are focused on adding some pieces to the bullpen and perhaps getting a righty outfield bat over the offseason.
Chris Taylor, Justin Turner. The Dodgers turn other teams’ scraps into gold, and they can outbid every other team for high priced FA’s if they want to as well. It’s not even fair at this point. And their own fans still booed them at home during their losing streak, despite still having the best record in the league at the time.
I dont care about the regular season but when you put Ross Stripling in a crucial situation of a world series game you deserve to be booed. Stripling has no business being on the world series roster let alone pitching in massive moments.
Unlike the soccer moms in San Francisco, Dodger fans are critical of the team if they’re playing bad. If you remember correctly, the team this year loss something like 20 of 26 (11 straight at one point) in late August thru mid September. I don’t believe in booing, but it’s perfectly acceptable for them to boo the performance of the team at that point.
Soccer moms? lol Dodgers fans beat someone half to death in front of his kids. You have the worst fanbase in baseball, maybe even sports. Have several seats.
So because two people did something horrible, you have to generalize the entire group of millions of people? That sounds smart. Totally not self serving your bias at all…
There are three types of dodger fans, the real ones who love their team unconditionally. The bandwagon fans who come around for the playoffs. Every team has them, and then there are the Hollywood so called fans that are not even from LA and probably only go to games cause they get free tickets.
So if two Asian men beat a white man, are all Asian men terrible? Get your trash views and opinions off this site. What a horrible one sided view you have. I’m not even a dodgers fan but be smarter then that. Come on
Completely agree. Dodger fans actually rival Yankees fans though Yankees fans are arguably drunker.
Eyyy Ima be that guy. A few don’t represent the masses. Someone tell the president and super conservatives that!
Let’s throw Philadelphia fans as some of the most “passionate” in the country.
Remember when Giant fans killed a Dodger fan outside of at&t and got away with it in 2013? course you don’t because it doesn’t fit your narrative.
What about the Fox celebrities who only show up at World Series games so they will get their mugs on TV and Joe Buck can plug their latest show. It’s probably in their contracts.
But this got me thinking, what kind of fan is Magic Johnson? He only shows up at Dodger Stadium for playoff games. And who are the fans who cheer him when he does? Not me, for one.
Without a doubt Giants fans are the most vile sports fans I have ever encountered. As a Dodgers fan I get routinely threatened and harassed at AT&T Park. Every single one of my Giants fans who go to Dodger stadium all come back saying the same thing: the fans were gracious and polite to them. They also come to recognize that Giants fans have an unnatural hatred for the Dodgers when they see that Dodger fans are pretty much indifferent to their existence.
Exactly in reality people think Dodger fans are vile to Giant fans but its really the other way around. Every time i go to AT&T their fans have this smug attitude and think they are better just because they root for the giants. At least dodger fans have common sense and understand not everyone is a fan of their team. The smug giant fans really cant understand why there are visiting fans in their ballpark
Giants fans use to chuck batteries at opposing players & fans at Candlestick, a ballpark btw where games were often poorly attended unless the Giants were in a pennant race. It’s funny how all these narratives get shredded when you move into a nice ballpark.
If you think that’s bad, try being a Red Sox fan in NYC
Well they sucked for a long time and so did the Astros so you would think at some point being at the top of the draft would pay off
Dipoto confessing about missing on Taylor is refreshingly honest. Just the opposite of Alderson’s mealymouthed avoidance of any sort of mea culpa for doing the same with Turner.
As a (bummed) Mariner fan, I agree. Dipoto has good intentions with seals and seems brutally aware of the situation, and although I didn’t understand the move initially as I’m sure many didn’t, the outcome may not have occurred had Taylor been acquired by any other team. It certainly didn’t seem like he’d be a 20/20-playing SS/CF/UTIL at any point when he was with the Mariners. Credit where it’s due to the Dodgers, and good for Taylor for breaking out. Maybe Dipoto can fleece another club this offseason to make it up to us M’s fans.
Taylor for Lee was certainly a bad trade, but not sure that it’s necessarily Dipoto’s worst, especially given that neither player was expected to do much in the majors. The ones where Dipoto expected a legit MLB performance and didn’t are the ones that are real backbreakers, like:
* Seth Smith to BAL for Yovani Gallardo
* Tyler O’Neill to STL for Marco Gonzales
* Alex Jackson to ATL for Max Povse and Robert Whelan
* Carson Smith and Roenis Elias to BOS for Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro
* Mark Trumbo and C.J. Riefenhauser to BA for Steve Clevenger
* Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries to CHC for Daniel Vogelbach and Paul Blackburn
All could contend for that title, or at least get dishonorable mention for TradeDHD’s worst deal.
Man you’re right, there are a lot of head-scratching trades on that list.
You can’t include Gonzales yet. And honestly, if trading away Mark Trumbo or Seth smith is a contender for your worst trade, you reall shouldn’t be too upset
Gonzales is a guy coming off arm surgery; you don’t trade your top offensive prospect (even with his whiff tool) for that.
And as for Trumbo or Smith, in both cases, MORE could have been reaped in each of those trades. Dipoto panics and just tries to get the first possible deal done he can instead of trying to make good deals. I decried both the Trumbo and Smith deals when they happened, and for good reason.
These deals need a lot of hindsight as well. Gallardo for Seth smith could’ve been alright. Gallardo was bad in Baltimore but moving to a pitchers park like safeco could’ve worked out. It didn’t but Seth smith wasn’t exactly a stud for us. Trumbo for clevinger was a great deal for Baltimore for one season. Be thankful he wasn’t on your roster to get an extension. Though, he was pretty bad and didn’t fit on the M’s roster since you already had a DH. O’Neill for Gonzales could be another Taylor for lee, I’ll give you that. And Idk how or why they valued Dan vogelbach worthy of mike Montgomery considering their pitching needs. A guy best suited for DH who could hit but doesn’t have great pop and is a negative everywhere else. Don’t understand that one either.
Blackburn for Valencia is looking like a real bad deal for the M’s. The A’s were just trying to shed some payroll and traded him for Blackburn who had a very solid year before getting hurt. Blackburn could turn into a solid #3 starter while Valencia is now a free agent.
At the time, Blackburn was still a prospect with a low ceiling, and Valencia was a proven major league talent that filled an immediate need, and he did fine for that. So I can’t necessarily execrate Dipoto for this one.
Blackburn for Valencia is another awful move from Dipoto. If they kept blackburn the montgomery trade would have been fine. Now all they have is mediocre dan vogelbach to show for it
There was NO WAY that either of those trades with Baltimore were going to work out well for the M’s. Clevenger was a marginal backup catcher and Gallardo was coming off injury and a poor season. Dipoto could easily have done better in trading either Trumbo or Smith; both had more value than he gave credit for, but he panicked, and that was that. I decried both deals when they happened, NOT in hindsight.
Yeah that Montgomery trade sure worked for the Cubs. How’s Vogelbach going?
Um, Vogelbach is emerging as a great AAAA player who can’t field his position. The only way he can get to a ground ball is if it enters his gravitational pull…
Would much rather have Montgomery.
Its the worst by far. Traded a 5 WAR player for a pitcher who wont start 1 game for the mariners
To be fair, Taylor wasn’t a 5 WAR player when he was traded, and it took the better part of a year for him to work on his swing and find that power stroke. It was Dipoto’s worst trade, but not on blind ignorance. The mistake was not giving him enough time.
In hindsight, Gallardo was terrible but who else could have pitched those innings for the Mariners this season? It got to the point where we just needed bodies when 4/5 of the starting five were down and out and he was the only real veteran to take the ball. The results were crap, like super-crap, but perhaps he didn’t eat all of his innings for nothing. It sucks too because I was really hoping for a bounce back, but he got shelled.
Too early to call O’Neill for Gonzales, in my opinion. Next year will be crucial, though. Plus he’s out of options so he has to stick. O’Neill wasn’t exactly lighting the Cards’ AAA team on fire post-trade either.
Trumbo is a bummer because he may have been the help we needed for a WC game in 2016. And Dipoto wouldn’t dare start him in the OF.
I had responded to this shortly after you had posted your comment, Zoinks, but I didn’t realize it was sent to moderation because of a word or two that drew a flag (innocently). Anyway, here it is edited:
It probably was Dipoto’s worst trade, but this also comes with hindsight. Taylor struggled in Seattle, and obviously the power wasn’t there previously. The real mistake wasn’t giving Taylor more time. It seems like a lot of teams write off players far too soon. Haniger might serve as a good example that ironically got his opportunity in Seattle.
Regarding those other deals, exercising Seth Smith’s option was a mistake. Gallardo was a miss, but it didn’t cost the team long-term, just a lot of money for one year of subpar pitching.
Alex Jackson for Whalen and Povse is still in the air. Jackson isn’t close to a look, Povse wasn’t as close as Dipoto had hoped and Whalen ended up on the restricted list, missing the better part of the season. Povse is still promising.
Carson Smith missed all of 2016 and most 0f 2017, while Miley was traded for Miranda and the Mariners got at least something there. That was hardly a miss.
Trumbo was moved for salary relief. The Mariners needed room for Iwakuma at the time. You can argue that was a miss, but it was for one year of Trumbo and pitching was prioritized. The real miss was Lind.
The Montgomery deal could have been okay, despite Vogelbach never figuring out 1B, if they had kept Blackburn. But he was exchanged for Valencia, who was a miss. The Cubs won that one, but worse than the Taylor deal? I don’t think so. Lost a swing man, got another for a half season of Cishek, which happened to be the same guy who was used to acquire Montgomery.
Another miss was Drew Jackson for Chase De Jong. De Jong may prove to be a useful back end starter in a year or so, but the hope was that he would contribute in 2017 and he was no where near ready. But again, worse than the Taylor deal?
O’Neill for Gonzales doesn’t look good right now and I wasn’t thrilled about that one. But O’Neill’s kS% is still alarming, the walks aren’t where you’d like them, and he’s far from being an elite defender. He holds a lot of promise, but has a lot to prove yet. Gonzales needs a lot of work on his curve, so both remain question marks.
I would call the Taylor deal his worst. The Mariners have no answer for the aging Cano now. I wasn’t shocked to see Taylor moved at the time, but once Jackson was moved, you really had to wonder what the plan was. Marte looked like he could handle SS or 2B eventually, but he had been traded as well.
That said, Dipoto has had his hits, including the Segura/Haniger deal, Gamel, Pazos, Vincent, Leake, Ramirez, and I would even add Albers, as he should serve as a nice depth piece. Garton and Marjama have looked like good depth pieces as well.
Taylor could have addressed a real need at 2B or the outfield. Dipoto will now have to find a utility infielder who could potentially handle 2B full time in the near future (Tyler Wade perhaps?), an outfielder to replace Dyson, a 1st baseman. and a couple of starters. He’s built a pretty solid bullpen, with Diaz, Phelps, Vincent, Zych, Pagan, Ramirez (if he doesn’t start), Altavilla, Pazos, and Rzepczynski. Rzep may get moved, as Gonzales is likely destined for the ‘pen (out of options), and one of the RHRP’s will likely be used to address an area of need. THere are currently 7 RHRP’s on the 40.
Dipoto has Seattle in the right direction, but finding young pitching and future infielders is going to be a real challenge, as will be trying to contend with a farm featuring few ready-now prospects.
It’s hindsight being 20/20, but it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers even hesitating for a second about not resigning JT. He is quickly becoming the face of the Dodgers. Dodgers in 6
Zero chance the Dodgers sweep the Astros home games.
Who said they’d sweep? He said Dodgers in 6, which would only require 2 wins in HOU
There you go using arithmetic again.
Agree Stripling and McCarthy both don’t belong on the roster. I also question Hill only 4 innings and Kenley a 6 out save??
Nothing wrong with Hill going 4 and Jansen a 6 out save. That’s the current state of postseason baseball
But not all games! You have to adjust game by game ! Hill had only thrown 60 pitches
You want your team to get better?
Nail an appropriate contract with Miles Mikolas.
Roll with your numbers now. Don’t wait until you see how he performs against the league.
I’m guessing 2 years 10. I could be way off.
However, everyone seems to need a starter. He wants to be a starter. Backseat GMs want to wait until they see what happens to assess his value. Execs don’t get that long.
“More intriguingly, perhaps, Sullivan adds that Miles Mikolas — who excelled in Japan after leaving Texas — has left the Rangers “highly intrigued.””
Most intriguing sentence in MLBTR history.
“The Athletics may be looking into some intriguing extension possibilities”
This may make it the most intriguing post.
It’s the only way the A’s can keep anybody. Have to hope they don’t go the way of Stephen piscotty or in the worst case Jon singleton and the extension blows up on them.
Looking back at the Taylor trade article, even Dodger fans were kind of upset that’s all they got for Lee
Only the uninformed fans who thought Lee was going to be great because he was a high draft pick.
Its not that he was going to be great, its that he had really high trade value in 2011-13 so and there were rumors about some pretty dang good players the dodgers passed on to keep Lee. It ended up that when Lee had the least value he got the best possible return for the dodgers which shows how crazy baseball can be
Make as many trades as Jerry does and you’ll definitely make some bad ones. Any Angels or M’s fans out there happy with a trade Dipoto’s made?
Its avoiding dumb trades. When teams are willing to trade a top prospect or #1 pick for another prospect you has to do a lot of scouting because it means they gave up on that player. So figure out why they gave up on that player.
If the price is low enough, the Reds should take a shot at trading for Pederson and then either bench or trade Billy Hamilton
Dipoto was a terrible GM in Anaheim and looks like he’s a terrible GM in Seattle. The Dodgers have the worst fans in baseball next to the Red Sox and Yankees. When the Raiders left LA all their fans decided to root for the Dodgers.
The Seattle Browns. Period.