The Mariners’ spirited attempt to sign Shohei Ohtani ended in heartbreak when the Japanese ace/slugger signed with the division-rival Angels last week. Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto acknowledged that he was disappointed in the outcome when speaking about Ohtani’s decision Monday. He was gracious in defeat, though, telling Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and other reporters that he’s “happy for” Ohtani and expects he’ll be “a great fit” in Anaheim.
With the Ohtani dream dead, the Mariners have been monitoring the free agent market for pitching, Dipoto revealed. “We have a sense that the market is starting to pick up. I feel like we are in a deal making zone,” he said (Twitter links here). Along with searching for pitching, Dipoto is looking to trade some of the international bonus pool money the Mariners acquired when they were trying to increase their chances to sign Ohtani, Greg Johns of MLB.com tweets. Dipoto also suggested that there won’t be anymore big additions to a Mariners position player group that just landed Dee Gordon. Instead, any new pickups are likely to come via waivers, minor league deals or the Rule 5 draft.
More from the American League:
- The Tigers engaged in contract extension talks with outfielder/third baseman Nicholas Castellanos’ agent after the season, but they haven’t had any discussions since, general manager Al Avila told reporters Monday. It looks unlikely the two sides will reach an agreement, per Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter link). As things stand, the soon-to-be 26-year-old Castellanos is controllable for just two more seasons. The former top prospect will make a projected $7.6MM in arbitration in 2018, when he’ll try for a third straight above-average offensive showing. Castellanos, who slugged a career-best 26 home runs last season, has batted .277/.325/.493 with 44 HRs in 1,112 plate appearances since 2016.
- The Yankees expressed interest in free agent Carlos Santana after Ohtani turned them down and before they acquired Giancarlo Stanton, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports (Twitter link). Now, Stanton’s presence removes any need for the Yanks to add another hitter, meaning he won’t end up with them, as Davidoff notes.
- Even without Stanton, New York finished 15 games ahead of division-rival Toronto in 2017. Nevertheless, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins iterated Monday that they’re aiming to rebound, not rebuild, next season. Atkins told reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, that he’s focused on putting together the “best possible team.” That would likely mean retaining star third baseman Josh Donaldson as he enters a contract year, which the Jays seem inclined to do. “It’s hard to imagine making (the Jays) better without Josh,” Atkins noted (Twitter link).
- On the other hand, the Stanton deal may hasten a rebuild for the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Rays would be wise to take that route, Topkin posits, thanks in part to the fact that New York and Boston are in their division. Additionally, the payroll-challenged club already looked primed to trade notable veterans even before the Yankees got Stanton. On the heels of a fourth straight sub-.500 season, the Rays will also lose righty Alex Cobb to free agency, which will make it all the more difficult for them to compete in the near term, Topkin points out.
Castellanos defense though is like a potato with a dream, it well never end up good cuz potatoes can’t have dreams and Castellanos can’t play 3B or the outfield well
Well I guess that along with Jeimer Candelario is the reason why he’s moving to right field in 2018.
That’s LF and he’s a D liability wherever he plays, but he still has value so long as he hits and if he hits enough to cover for his -d there will be significant trade interest.
In Detroit, RF has the least ground to cover. Mahtook is expected to be in LF.
You’re being a little hard on potatoes aren’t you?
I suppose I was a little hard on potatoes
That was labored.
So was reading it.
For a second I thought I was reading a LaVar Ball quote….
strostro, “potato with a dream” might be the greatest thing I ever heard
Haha thanks
If he continues to hit like he did near the end of the year we need to hold onto him as he can DH once VMart is finally gone
I still hold out hope the Yankees trade Headley and go for Todd Frazier
Would rather have Headley and his expiring contract than Frazier on a 3 or 4 year deal. Headley doesnt strike out as much and at some point they have to make room for the kids. Headleys bat wont kill them
Headley looks god awful at off speed pitches.
Yanks should focus on a void (Starting Pitching) than their 3 Rd base situation. No need to focus on getting Frazier. They don’t need him. Nor do they want him. He was not that big of a deal to make a deal.
Castellanos lets in a run with his glove for every run he produces with his bat. Word gets around. It would be undeserved luck to get anything of value for him.
The article doesn’t say anything about trading him. Quite the opposite.
Is that really a fact? Sounds way too high.
only Atkins and Shapiro can look at the two teams ahead of them in the division getting better, 3 AL West teams arguably better and at least 1 AL central and have their best chance to rebuild in donaldson and go ” yep time to compete”. 2018 will set the blue jays back 3 years minimum
The Blue Jays finished 15 games behind the Yankees last season because of injuries to their starting pitching. They got nothing out of Sanchez at all. Happ & Estrada both missed time. If their starters are healthy, the Jays can compete. Their pitching is good enough. They do need to improve their offense and make it more diverse
The Rays are always rebuilding, albeit more efficiently than the rest of the league, but nonetheless, they don’t big name free agents. They don’t keep most of their stars, save for Longoria, when they get expensive.
Lets be real Jerry, you’re ALWAYS in the “deal making zone”
The sad part is that there have been reports that Dipoto has only really been looking for a reliever, which is good considering we could use another reliever, but, if we open the rotation with two of Erasmo Ramirez, Ariel Miranda, or Marco Gonzales in the back end of the rotation, that won’t do anything good for us. I’m definitely not saying to go top dog and pursue Arrieta, or Darvish. However, the fit of Lance Lynn would work nice, in my opinion. Paxton, Felix, Lynn, Leake, Ramirez looks better than Paxton, Felix, Leake, Ramirez, Gonzales.
Anything looks better without Gonzalez right now, hopefully he will develop into something though. Really hurts right now giving up O’Neil.
Marco is out of options. So keep him and watch him get destroyed or waive him now and watch Tyler in All Star games for the next decade all for nothing?
So now Dipoto is gonna get 50 cents on the dollar for all the IFA allowance money he acquired via trade? Because who in their right mind is going to send over quality talent for IFA money when Ohtani is already signed?
Reeks of bad management to me.
If I see another article about reactions of GM’s about Ontani or Stanton, I am going to do …….nothing. Just be annoyed…that I have skip that article.
The last article said the mariners were in on Bruce. This article says they are done adding any big position players. Sick of all the fake news
oh the sweet sound of defeat coming from dipoto… I love it
Breaking news:
New York and Boston will remain in the AL East with Tampa Bay for the foreseeable future! Does this mean they should be in perpetual rebuild?
Everyone is all bothered by castellanos defense but his bat is good enough to be an all time DH and he will most likely move there after this season when vmart retires. So long term you don’t have to worry about his glove
Castellanos can become an everyday DH or become and average 1B if we move MIGGY to DH. And his bat is severely under valued.. I would be very disappointed if we don’t extend him…