2:50pm: Dipoto revealed in an appearance on 710 ESPN Radio today that Sheffield has been diagnosed with a mild flexor strain in his left forearm but also a Grade 2 oblique strain (Twitter link via 710’s Shannon Drayer). The oblique injury is the more significant of the two, and based on the fact that it’s a Grade 2 strain, it seems fair to expect Sheffield to be absent from the Seattle rotation for a rather notable chunk of time. Even less-severe Grade 1 oblique strains can sideline players for around a month at a time.
10:20am: After slipping a few games below .500 in mid-June, the Mariners have rallied back with a 14-7 showing that has them three games over .500, at 45-42. That still places them nine games back in a tough AL West, but they’re only three and a half games down in the Wild Card standings. Seattle has looked like one of the many teams whose deadline trajectory could very well be determined by how the team fares in its next 10 games or so, but manager Scott Servais suggested in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that he expects the front office to operate as buyers (Twitter link, with audio).
“We’ve got a ton of prospect capital, and we’ve got young players in our system — our minor league system has improved so much,” Servais told hosts Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette. “…Our Major League team is moving in the right direction, so the possibility to add players to help this year and to help going forward is really important for us. I’m sure [GM Jerry Dipoto] and [assistant GM] Justin Hollander are talking to everybody out there and seeing what they can do to better us now and then also take a look into 2022 and beyond.”
Asked about specific areas of need, Servais said with a chuckle that “every manager out there says he needs more pitching.” While that was something of a tongue-in-cheek comment, the rotation is a fairly obvious area of focus if Dipoto and the front office do indeed look to add to the roster. The Mariners have received solid results from Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Dunn, offseason signing Chris Flexen and top prospect Logan Gilbert, but on the whole, their starters are 23rd in the Majors with a 4.76 ERA.
Opening Day starter Marco Gonzales missed more than a month with a forearm injury and hasn’t looked like himself when healthy enough to take the mound. The typically steady left-hander has posted a career-worst nine percent walk rate, which has been exacerbated by the fact that he’s been one of MLB’s most homer-prone pitchers in 2021 (2.29 HR/9).
Fellow left-hander Justus Sheffield, meanwhile, has recently struggled through a brutal stretch — a slump that looks all the more alarming after the Mariners announced last night that he was headed to the injured list with a forearm strain of his own. No timetable for the southpaw’s return was provided.
The 25-year-old Sheffield pitched to a 4.17 ERA and 3.97 FIP from Opening Day 2020 through June 3 of this season and looked to be settling in as a reliable member of the Seattle rotation. But over his past five starts, Sheffield has managed only 19 1/3 innings and been hammered for 24 runs on 33 hits (seven homers) and 12 walks. His velocity hasn’t dipped in that time, but it’s still the worst stretch of his young career — one that’s ballooned his 2021 ERA to 6.48 in short order.
Looking long-term, the Mariners have some high-end arms still on the way. Recent first-rounders George Kirby and Emerson Hancock were both drafted as polished college arms, but they’re currently pitching at Class-A Advanced and aren’t immediate options to help round out the MLB group. The Mariners have some depth options in Triple-A — Robert Dugger is already on the 40-man roster — but they’ve also lost a lot of their depth to injuries. Dunn is currently on the IL with a shoulder strain. James Paxton’s return to Seattle lasted just 1 1/3 innings before he required Tommy John surgery. Righty Ljay Newsome also went down with a UCL tear, and lefty Nick Margevicius underwent thoracic outlet surgery earlier in the year.
Given that slate of injuries and new concerns surrounding Sheffield, it’d only be natural for the Mariners to look for some help on the trade market. And while that’ll be especially likely if they remain within arm’s reach of a postseason berth, the Mariners are the type of team that could look to add longer-term pieces to their MLB group even if they begin to fall back in the standings. Servais foreshadowed as much when mentioning “[taking] a look into 2022 and beyond” — a nod to the possibility of acquiring a pitcher with multiple years of club control remaining.
Regardless of how the Mariners finish in the standings this year, the offseason expectation will be that they’re going to start adding to the roster via free agency and trades. Much of the team’s young core has either emerged in the big leagues already or will do so over the next calendar year. Acquiring a pitcher with multiple years of club control would only serve to jumpstart that process for Dipoto & Co.
Then again, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times points out, there’s at least some degree of uncertainty surrounding the organization’s top decision-maker himself. Dipoto is in the final season of a three-year contract right now and has yet to sign a new deal. Divish reports that the Mariners have “floated” the idea of a one-year extension for the 2022 season, which would give Dipoto a chance to finish off his rebuild and ownership the chance to take a look at a more finished product, so to speak.
For the time being, however, Dipoto is approaching a pivotal trade deadline with no guarantee he’ll still be at the helm this coming offseason. It’s still possible that ownership will get something done this month — Dipoto’s last three-year extension was signed in early July, 2018 — but it’s not clear whether there’s been any formal offer made.
Great trading partner for Rockies/Marquez.
How many future pieces you wanna give away while your rebuild is still cooking? Not time yet for Seattle to be buyers like that, Marquez will drain their farm.
Take Blackman’s contract, get Marquez. Mariners have A LOT of money. Yes, you’ll need to ship the usual 5 suspects to Colorado, but not anyone from your top 10.
Stop dreaming of 2023. Astros and A’s aren’t going to sit there while you go through your “rebuild”. Start winning NOW, build the culture, The being the “little engine that could” works in Tampa. cuz god bless ’em, they don’t have any money.
Seattle does. Load the wagon, don’t worry about the horse being blind.
You can’t just “start winning now”. It’s not a choice, it’s the result of a plan. Make that trade and you’ll be a perpetually mediocre team. (Unless taking in Blackmon enough drives down the price, which I doubt it will). Pretty dumb to rebuild only to trade away half the farm just before it all comes to fruition.
Blackmon has a 15-team limited no-trade clause in his contract. We don’t know if we’re even able to obtain him if he’s put Seattle on that list.
@cosmo: Right. All the prospects are going to be superstars. And the Astros (smart folks, with money) and A’s (smarter folks, not as much money) are going to sit there, hat in hand and fingers you know where, while “the plan” evolves.
In reality, teams like the M’s should never even be allowed to “rebuild”. The Rays don’t; the Brewers don’t; the Indians don’t. They just at least stay on the periphery of contention, and every so often it comes together for them. And they all have dramatically fewer resources than the Mariners do.
I agree with you on the never rebuild thing (other than in extreme cases, like you lose 100+) Yet still, trading prospects for an upgrade while your team is still meh is a bad plan. Trade prospects for a star when you’re close, not now. But go ahead, be the Phillies, go for big names prematurely and then sputter like them.
“build the culture”
can hardly exaggerate the importance of this – Astros winning 2017 with core team so very young has added innumerable wins to subsequent years, in my opinion
@Bob- You don’t worry about what the A’s are doing, or what the Astros are doing… because that’s how you get yourself fired as a GM when you make a rash decision.
You make a plan for your franchise, and you stick to the plan for your franchise.
Rebuild is not a dirty word. The smart teams do it when it’s warranted. Every prospect isn’t going to pan out. But the more you have, the more chances you have some will.
Why would either Colorado or Seattle make this trade you propose? Colorado isn’t in some kind of dire straights, so they don’t need Blackmon off the books and Seattle needs all the 40 man roster spots they can get and they have a plethora of outfield options. Also, why would Colorado tie one of the most under water contract to one of the most valuable?
I don’t put anything past the Rockies front office but nothing about this proposal seems to make much sense.
Not worrying about what the other teams do. But the reality is, is that when fans talk about the “future”, they neglect that those teams have futures too. Those teams have prospects too. Those teams have draft choices and international slots too.
And chances are, because they ARE successful, they likely have solid player development practices; getting the raw talent is only half (maybe less) of the end result.
So we disagree. You would have never had traded Moncada et al for Sale. I would have done it then; I would do it today. Flags fly forever. And even then I was lot more certain then about Moncada than I am now about J-Rod et al.
The only “time” to start being a contender is today. Thinking that the free agent market or trade possibilities will line up perfectly with your “plan” is a bit hopeful. M’s should add pieces today; add more this winter.
The key phrase is “I don’t put anything past the Rox front office”. I agree, they’re far from dire straights; they still pack the joint and get ratings no matter what they do. But they do some, shall we say, interesting things.
@bob I do not think the Mariners have any reason to take on Blackmon. They have more OF options then they even know what to do with. Everyone knows about Kelenic and they see what Fraley can do when given some time. Now the best of the bunch is going to be coming up soon in Julio Rodriguez. Not to mention Kyle Lewis.That would leave Blackmon to play some DH only and he won’t be ok with that. He has stated numerous times he doesn’t want to be a DH the last couple years(soon enough might not matter).
Now moving on to Marquez, is he really worth it? I see him as a right handed version of Marco Gonzales. He may not get injured as much. Now he got used to Coors thin air if you haven’t seen his splits this season. I think he might be staying in Colorado. Mariners are not getting much better with Marquez added in the rotation anyways.
I get what you are saying though Bob. The M’s need to get more proactive.
Again we mostly agree. Charlie? Ya, the train has left the station, but he wasn’t at all bad in his time. He just is no where worth 21M a year for this year and next, and a likely exercise of his player option for 2023 (only 12M).
Taking on that burden is only understandable if it involves Marquez, who I view as easily the best starter out there; IMHO, no one else is close. And you have a lot more confidence in Kelenic/J-Rod et all than I do. Prospects get hurt, underperform, all the time. Blackman fits there between Hanniger (who they absolutely should keep) and Lewis.
So the kids come up and all perform well. What’s the problem, you have too many good players? I doubt there’s a GM in the business who worries about his team having too many good players.
They have the money, and they’re close to contention. IF (granted, a big IF) the Rox would combine Blackman/Marquez, and accept lesser prospects (which they would have to do), the M’s are nuts to pass it up.
Actually, so is just about any other team in MLB. But the M’s are close, and Marquez may not put them over the hump, but he brings them oh so much closer.
What’s important about “culture building” was described best by Ron Darling, a fairly erudite observer. If you play for the Pirates (insert any team out of it from Day 1), the season goals are all about you; only you. Now the same holds for guys on a competitive team. But there’s an arc where playing for the team becomes important, because every body (especially competitive athletes) wants to win. So you sacrifice yourself once in a while; you obsess about getting that runner in from 3rd, instead about your launch angle, e.g. It makes a difference.
“So you sacrifice yourself once in a while; you obsess about getting that runner in from 3rd, instead about your launch angle, e.g. It makes a difference.”
It does indeed. Very well put.
Oh, just start winning now, someone should tell all the bad teams to try this.
Jay 13… I’d love the M’s to get a savvy hitter like Charlie B but like you suggest, OF is the LAST position the M’s should acquire in a trade. Dipoto will almost certainly trade for INF help and Pitching. Possibly…..more pitching!
Julio won’t be in the picture until mid April 2022 at the earliest. Still, we have 8 players from the 25 man R who play OF.- At the start of this Sept, hopefully sooner, we should have a healthy K Lewis in CF, we have Haniger in RF and 3 Rookies to choose from -Fraley, Trammell and Kelenic. Then there’s 1B/OF Jake Bauer and (2) 2B/OFers Shed Long and Dylan Moore who play PT in the OF also. Can you imagine the reaction from the Seattle media and M’s fan base when they find out 1)we’re actually buying a position player, 2) that position player is an OFer!? Prob a bit like Hawk Nation after the 2020 NFL Draft: “you drafted a LB? We have a surplus of LB’s and you use your 1st rd pick on a LB!?” Maybe a bad example haha Jordyn Brooks is a stud!
Jake Fraley has a .400+ OBA so he should finish out the year in LF. At some point you have to think Kelenic will be in a competition for a LF spot also.
Oh you mean like Houston and both Chicago teams did, ok.
I only have faith in J-rod personally, as I have seen the kid play on the field alot. Such a great personality and always looks like he is having fun on the baseball field. He is the real deal. He could mold into a Carlos Beltran or a Barry Bonds(without steroids), that is what I have seen and feel. Could he just as easy flame out, sure.
I am not even a Mariners fan, if I was, I would be more excited about Julio, then Kelenic.
I do get what your saying, the M’s are almost there. The Rockies should have the AL West teams on speed dial 1-5.
The M’s rebuild was necessitated by a couple of really bad GM’s that preceded DiPoto. He took over a mess. Worst farm system in baseball. Robby Cano’s albatross contract. And many more atrocities He’s done a great job so far turning around the M’s.
How many outfielders do we have, how about utility guys?
I’ve always believed that the far.m serves 2 purposes, first, and in no particular order, is players you developed and secondly players you trade.
We’ve got a real surplus, ,etc move them.
We need at least one front-end starter, a second baseman and a third baseman.
Is Dipoto going to fill those spots with cash? Not likely, so how do we get those guys? Prospects will go a ways to that end..
How many of those outfielders are establish ML players? You don’t have a surplus yet. This is the mistake fans make, thinking prospects work out way more often than they actually do.
Wrong
sports.mynorthwest.com/1432303/dipoto-mariners-pla…?
Bud Black just said 2 days ago that Marquez isn’t getting traded. I realize that doesn’t always mean anything, but i wouldn’t get my hopes up that he’s on the move.
Do u believe everything on see in the news ? He’s posturing. That’s all
Do you disbelieve everything you see in the news? You’re guessing. That’s all
I’ll take the guys word who has rebuilt this system and said we will be competing in ’21 vs. the guy who bags groceries at Albertson’s. Its not rocket science. Seattle’s payroll is one of the lowest in baseball next season. Its not hard to figure out.
Mariners be best off unloading every prospect or young talent not named Julio Rodriguez. And do it before their value drops a la kelenic.
Go get Marquez and Story and make a run for it. Kyle Lewis, a top pitching prospect and N Marte will get that deal done. Way better option than trading away major league talent !!
Marquez and Story aren’t enough to transform the team. That’s why patience is a virtue, collecting big names is an obvious but short sighted plan. (Plus Story is a free agent at years end so…)
Is all your prospects busting out a virtue too ? Bc that’s what happens every time. Look at all the top 100 prospects that busted out in past decade for atlanta. Best off unloading those dudes as your gm hinted too above
All prospects bust out all the time? You’re talking nonsense unbacked by anything but weird emotion. Go ahead, trade your future for big names about to decline. Im a Mets fan, makes little difference to me if Seattle’s losing streak goes on another ten years.
why are you commenting on a topic you know nothing about?
Cosmo- ever heard of former top 10 prospect Amed Rosario ?
Mets lost 10s of millions in prospect value not dealing him and his inflated hype. Trade em all. Everytime. and your team will be better for it.
Trade them all, every time. Surely you have to be trolling. You gonna run a team out there with a $300m payroll, or will you just be filling the spots where you can’t trade for upgrades with minimum salary cast offs?
bot- ever heard of every prospect that HAS worked out? Of course in hindsight you can cherry pick the ones that didn’t (although Rosario did help them land Lindor). But if you trade all your prospects you’ll just end up with a very old, very expensive team
“Their value drops a la Kelenic”
Please explain how his value has dropped?
I think it’s crazy to think his value dropped after his short (albeit abysmal) stint in the majors.
I also am not nearly as high on Kelenic as most people seem to be but he’s still gotta be regarded as one of the premier OF prospects I’d imagine.
Kelenics value is still sky high, don’t kid yourself. He’s 21 and hitting .315 in AAA mashing the ball. Marte is a stud he’s untouchable. I’d give them Dunn/Wyatt mills/okeiff(sp)/trammell for berrois today.
I don’t think that gets it done. Trammell, Mills and Kirby should do it. I’d imagine they’d want one of Gilbert, Hancock or Kirby. I don’t think Dunn has much value. I’ve said it since the day he came to Seattle that I think he’s destined to be the closer at some point. I don’t think he’ll have the consistency to be a starter. His peripherals this year are terrible too. Gilbert isn’t going anywhere and Hancock should be untouchable. He was regarded as the number one pick for a while by plenty of scouts before he had an injury. He’s the future ace
Kelenic’s value hasn’t dropped. If you think so, then you obviously don’t know anything about baseball.
Mike Trout says hi.
Marquez is probably too expensive. If the Mariners can get him without giving up any of their top ten prospects, sure… but at the moment, let’s give Sheffield some time in the minors over the rest of this season, give Dunn’s shoulder some time to recover, give Gilbert some more starts, see if Gonzales can straighten things out… and then address the pitching over the winter. For the rest of this season, see what it would take to pry Nelson Cruz away from Minnesota. And if Cal Raleigh is ready for a call-up, there might be some teams interested in Torrens or Murphy plus a prospect in exchange for a SP. Kyle Gibson, maybe? Or a veteran who still has gas in the tank? At any rate, they don’t need to gut the farm just to stay in the rest of this season’s race. Add the veteran hitter and clubhouse presence in Cruz now, and make major pitching moves (and other moves) during the winter when they have a better idea about which kids will be ready for majors and when.
Any of their top 10?!? Lol. Marquez is better today than any of those pitchers will be over their whole career. I know it’s nice to have a lot pretty farm but u gotta let em go bro. Y’all be better for it !
We don’t know that about Marquez, although we definitely know he’s an excellent pitcher. We also know the M’s have built an excellent farm system.
Like BobTillman suggested in an earlier comment, add pieces now, add more over the winter… and I add, no need to spend the best capital right now, when they still are determining where their needs really lie. Of course I won’t be disappointed if they do go out and get Marquez… I don’t want to see them trade Kelenic, Rodriguez or Hancock.
When the prospects bust out – their capital goes w em
@Bot, very true.
bot- doesn’t that pretty much apply to everything, though?
The jury is still out on Gilbert, Hancock, and Kirby. Marquez would cost one of Julio or Kekenic. Forget Marquez. They shouldn’t be going after a player like him anyways, too expensive. This team is young, the core is budding and the roster is cheap. Dipoto is on record saying, “he will be spending this offseason.” Who knows where though. My guess is the infield and pitching.
Interesting to think how they Mariners would be doing if Paxton didn’t get hurt (and pitched like his old self) and if Marco Gonzales didn’t fall off out of nowhere.
Hopefully this club isn’t just a tease
if my grandmother had wheels she would be a bike
pitching injuries are an absolute given (especially coming off a shortened season).
Good teams have depth stockpiled, bad teams don’t
A Huffy or BMX?
Have often thought myself how much better we’d be with a healthy Pax and Dunn.
We had a healthy Dunn up until a week ago so…
Try a month ago
More like 3 weeks at the time of me posting if you want to get technical. Don’t call people on wrong statements with your own wrong statement. It makes you look stupid
Yeah you’re so smart. What a genius we’ve found here on the forum moron!
Let’s stop with the excuses, we know well hear them from Dipoto.
Injuries are part of the guest and everyone has them.
I’ve been saying for some time that the Mariners and their fans embrace mediocrity and your post proves the point.
How about getting tired of losing and demanding a winner, anything wrong with that, try something different?
The season ain’t over.
From an outsider perspective, and I’m admittedly someone who almost never sees the Mariners, I wonder what the holdup is on extending Dipoto. It seems to me that he has built a pretty solid team with a number of good prospects behind them; as the article suggests, without some key pitcher injuries they might be even more in the thick of things.
They’re definitely headed in a good direction as a team.
Meanwhile A’s in opposite direction currently. Haven’t won a series since mid June. Impending doom with their new ballpark up for vote in less than 2 weeks. And their ownership group touring sites in Las Vegas. I’d be shocked if they don’t start another rebuild this offseason.
DiPoto is probably insulted by the offers. We’ll see him quit on the team mid year because of a lack of respect or something. Because, you know, he’s done it before…
Its a Cut throat world…there’s probably a bunch of younger candidates they deem smart enough and would trust to do the job at half the cost if we are being honest. And it’s probably less and less of a 1 person ordeal today than it is a staff nowadays Id imagine
They are staying flexible, perhaps maybe even posturing to move Jerrys ask down
At the end of the day it’s their call, perhaps they don’t trust Jerry with the checkbook? Perhaps they want a new FO team for the next phase they are entering which will be a lot different procedurally ….. I wouldn’t cast quick judgment if something odd did happen here over the next 6 months upstairs
Trader Jerry will do something because he has a compulsion to make trades. The question will be what does he think he can get for pieces already on the roster. Mitch Haniger and Kyle Seager are the most likely to be moved in this situation. I don’t see them moving Kikuchi, which will be discussed quite a bit in the next few weeks. The Mariners will certainly be an interesting team to watch over the next three weeks
Haniger is valuable with team control remaining. Seager will be tough to trade as a “rental” because of a clause in his contracts that kicks in an option if he is indeed traded.
For teams like the Mets and Brewers where 3B has been a revolving door that might actually play in his favor
As a brewers fan, I’ll take a hard pass on Seager.
Why would you pass on Seager? How many games have you watched him play? His bat is streaky but his glove is gold. I hope they pick up his option until we get third nailed down.
How long has Seager been here?
Why do we not have someone to man third after all this time?
As a Seager fan, I’ll take a hard pass on the Brewers!
Where have you been for the past two years? Have you not heard about Kyles option? If you really think that is tradeable, then you have no clue about baseball. His numbers are absolutely horrible. Nobody’s giving up anything for him. Anything
Kyle Seager has posted 5.8 fWAR, valued at $46.6 million, in 253 games since the start of the 2019 season.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=3b&stats=bat&#…
Over that period Seager barely trails third basemen Justin Turner, Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado, who have contract AAVs between $17 million and $30 million.
The 2022 option for $15 million (plus escalators) could be a bargain.
Teams will be concerned with what he will do in 2022. Not what he did 2 or 3 years ago.
Kyle Seager will be the same age Josh Donaldson was when Donaldson signed a four-year, $92 million contract in January 2020 (and two years younger than Justin Turner was when Turner signed a two-year, $34 million contract last offseason).
The 3 million dollar buyout check is already postdated and signed in Jerrys desk for Seager –
I think you seem to forget what type of player Kyle has been this year or the past two years. He’s not Justin Turner or Josh Donaldson. Not even close. He’s done. Those players have shown they’re not done. You all can keep arguing about Seager. The fact is is that he’s not getting traded and he’s done after this year with the Mariners. It’s a simple as that.
I don’t see them trading anyone on the 25 man roster. Probably would see B or C prospects.The Mariners have enough top prospects in the top 10 to keep coming up from the farm so they can sign a couple of big free agents this offseason and it will offset the dependency on the B and C prospects thus making them available for a trade right now. Keep Jake Fraley though
No harm done in losing Sheffield for a while. He wasn’t getting anybody out anyway.
Who are they willing to give up
M’s have a ton of Prospect capital. I imagine anyone outside the Top 6 are up for grabs.
Plus, Seattle are the hands down favorites to sign the 2022 #1 ranked International Prospect SS Felnin Celestin. We can afford some trades.
What about trading for a guy like Berrios? He would immediately become their number 1 and Seattle can give the Twins near-ready Major League talent so they can try to contend again next year.
Or just develop and promote one of your own pitching prospects. That’s possible, you know.
Seattle hasn’t been to the postseason since ‘01. They should take advantage of this opportunity and make a run at it.
They developed one of their own pitching prospects into one of the best pitchers of the 21st century (Felix Hernandez) and that was not enough to get them to the playoffs once. Maybe it’s time to try something else.
They didnt get in the playoffs with Felix so you think a good lesson from that is, “never again develop a young pitcher, only trade future assets for one.”? Every prospect they trade that works out somewhere else detracts from future success. Simply put, the team isn’t there yet. It’d be a mistake to ditch the long plan and go all in right now.
I didn’t say NEVER. No where in my comment is the word NEVER. I said try something else. If that doesn’t work, then maybe go back to developing or try a third tactic.
It would be a bigger mistake to stubbornly stick to a rebuild plan and not recognize that the opportunity for postseason play is there this season.
Plus there is a big difference between trading for help and going all in. You can trade some prospects without having to trade all of them. Even the amount of prospects it would take to get a guy like Marquez would not be going all in. Getting Marquez and Bryant and several other guys this deadline would be going all in. I agree that would be a mistake, but then again that is not what we are talking about.
Boston offered ANY nine prospects for Felix once.
Most of our pitching prospects aren’t ready right now to be fair
Ah yes, a much better pitcher in Felix didn’t get them to the playoffs so they should try trading for a worse pitcher than he was cuz that’ll work?
Berries would be great. But he’s not a rental. He might cost too much. Haniger plus a top 10 prospect and a mid level prospect probably gets it done. Luis Castillo would be another similar option.
The Angels are just a half game behind Seattle, and those teams meet 6 times before the deadline. The outcome of those games and their respective series against Oakland could decide a lot.
Ms are also going to be big Red Sox fans for the next few weeks as they hope to keep the Blue Jays and Yankees at bay.
Jerry isn’t going anywhere unless he wants to. Ownership seen that he cut payroll. Everyone raved about his trades. System went from bottom to top in rankings. Team is competitive ahead of schedule. If they don’t keep him then they aren’t too smart and he won’t have any problems finding work.
They shouldn’t be heavy buyers. I don’t see them winning division. I can see them selling expiring pieces and buying cheap pieces to hang around and see what happens. Sell high buy low.
I think you’re pretty spot on here, although I do think that they should look to buy if the price is right. It’s been a long time since that team has made the playoffs. I think they should look to make improvements designed towards a playoff push… provided that they aren’t mortgaging their bright-looking future to do so.
I believe they will be flexible. If someone makes a good offer Mitch is probably gone. But then they could add say gamel and Anderson. A lot can happen in 3 weeks. Will know more then.
As somebody with an autographed Gamel jersey I really want him back so my ownership of aforementioned jersey makes more sense.
I was so mad when we got rid of Gamel. The dude is a gamer. The type of player that’s hard to not like.
Just un-do the Freddy Peralta for Adam Lind and Pablo Lopez for David Phelps trades and BOOM!…We’re Good! LOL smh on those trades, sometimes prospects blossom EXACTLY how your scouts envision! Let’s hope our current crop pans out as well as these guys have for their ‘other’ teams! GO M’s!!!
Please refrain from bringing Pablo Lopez up anymore lol. That still hurts. Especially with how he’s pitched this year. It’s going to continue to hurt more
It all depends on who trade for Don’t you think with Schertzer and Cruz we could go far in post season?
Nationals I believe will be buyers. Houston and even Oakland won’t be easy to catch. I wouldn’t want to part with great prospects. Let alone for a wild card effort. If they are in the race for a wild card at the end of the month I expect them to add at the least a backend starter, reliever or 2 if needed. A cheap bat. They shouldn’t give away any good prospects unless they lost all hope in a Kelenic or something. But backend starters, questionable starters, non power hitters etc should be fair game.
Now a team like the nationals should be all in. Have Soto. Other players are soon to be free agents. Farm is already weak.
Backend starter?
To what end?
@YourDreamGM, You’re right, Dipoto won’t have any trouble finding work, as a used car salesman. The guy has never won anything as a GM, how many years counting now? Not even a division title, and I wouldn’t expect one this year.
I don’t expect them to be buyers, unless they could find a way to get pitching with multiple years remaining on his deal. That’s not easy unless u pay a heavy price in prospects. Anyway, they should hang tight, and let there new GM make some moves, and also spend some money this winter, and then, they just might have a reasonable play-off chance next year. This team is close to competing, even thou there 1st half record might just be a little bit of a mirage.
It’s hard to win when you’re handed a flailing team. He has done well with a few mistakes just like anyone to work in the sport
6 years.
Count his entire time at GM, and make it a decade of futility.
You contradict yourself. You said team is close to competing. Few years ago they were terrible with a terrible farm.
But you are dead on right about the used car salesman. He downright ripped off weaker gms with his trades.
Dipoto has done a good job of of getting real value in trades and he should get credit for that.
Lmao! Until the car actually runs, and runs well. I believe the M’s have a “lemon” at G.M. 😉
That Kalenic trade, not looking like an A+ u gave it to start the season huh.
Yeah because a 21 year old with an OPS over 1.000 in AAA is terrible.
You’re going for that AAA championship huh?… I do wish the kid good luck, but I’ve seen it many of times where top prospects rake in the minors, and can’t make the next step in the bigs. You’re right on one thing, he’s still young and will get plenty more shots at it.
That trade was was A soon as it was made. Dumping that Cano contract was huge. I don’t care if Kelenic ever took a mlb bat.
All valid points. But, knowing what we know now about how Cano, Diaz, Kelenic and Dunn have played since, I’d still make that same trade without the slightest hesitation.
Totally agree, hindsight as we know is 20/20. At the time, it made sense for both teams. Mets were in win now mode, and for the M’s, Why pay Cano’s big contract when you wouldn’t be winning anyway. Cano’s contract is far from an albatross thou. He performed solid last year, now I don’t know how much of that is PED related, but he’s still performing as an above average 2b, now we’ll see if he can keep it up for his final 2 years.
I have a feeling Cano will continue to hit just fine when he’s back
Angels fan!
Houston is “NOW” AN elite team. Playoffs/WS 5 of last 6 seasons. The years before this half decade dominance were very dark years, to put it mildly…
But, Houston was in multi year rebuild the previous 4 or 5 years. Not that long ago they were a basket case, finishing 5th or 6th.
Those dark years were the tear down,, rebuild years, then stocking the farm, some key trades that largely led to its insanely successful run of late.
Yes, Seattle is playing above its combined stats, winning many 1 run games but run differential is absurdly high for a team a few games back within reach of a wildcard spot, with half + season still ahead.
Perhaps if the M’s grow their lead by deadline, maybe a trade for a controllable SP….but to trade many top prospects for “win now” (but pay later) would be a huge mistake.
As a longgggggg suffering Mariners fan, I want a playoff….but with the farm the best stocked it has been in over a decade, I’m willing to maintain the plan, witness a flirt with a playoff w/o draining some the best prospects in the league in 2021.
Then, in off-season and maybe a key signing (ownership has $$$) or two, perhaps a key trade, then near deadline, perhaps a trade.
Right now? No need to trade top prospects. Houston is a perfect example of going from pathetic to premiere. Seattle is beyond Houston’s recent halfway rebuild point. On course to battle Houston & the ever pesky A’s very soon.
With an embarrassment of riches on outfield prospects and young SP’s on course for a call up, Seattle’s future, the very near future us very bright. The test be next year at this time.
Great comment bro. #goms
They made the yankees look like little leaguers today and at the end of the game the yankees even acted like little leaguers. All over a pitch that was only a HBP because DJLM has to wear a big baggy shirt over his spindly little upper body?
People get mad at dipoto for not spending when it’s 100% ownerships fault. If we don’t extend dipoto then John Stanton is big time idiot
Die hard sad Ms fan.
I’m totally ok w trading Hani and seags and even fraley for some MLB ready pitching and maybe a cldecent 3rd baseman. That being said. I don’t want a rental. We aren’t ready this year. But we are gonna be coming y’all. Did u see gilby pitch today o my!!! I’m exited. For once. And I’m sure the Ms will find a way to ruin it. Like …always.
That’s the thing, the only pitching with a fairly good price, will only be rentals. No teams trades Cost controlled good pitching without a huge haul anymore. So, that means you’d be leaning on standing pat, and make it happen in the off season. If so, I totally agree. It buys some time to understand what u truely need moving forward. Thus, less chance of messing it up.
Well said Swing….Agree on all
Time is on Seattle’s side at the moment, things can get out of hand quick.
Stay methodical, stay flexible, greener pastures are ahead
Sign Lance Lynn, Marcus Stroman, or Kevin Gausman in the offseason Seattle.
Gross
M’s are a year behind the Jays and White Sox. They were us last year. Seattle is spending in the offseason.
Haniger and George Kirby for Berrios. Or maybe Luis Castillo. Those are the two players that DiPoto should be on the phone trying to work out a trade for. Only at the right price though. And Haniger and Kirby seems fair or even a bit much, it’d be for a proven picture like Berrios who’d be more than a rental and instantly our ace. As much as a like Haniger and hope he stays, Berrios would make us markedly better. If the Mariners somehow make the playoffs, it’ll be a very quick exit with this rotation even if they were to win the wild card game. On a side note, Gonzales needs to figure it out quick. He’s been BAD
Lotta Sea Love this week, I like it
Really exciting system they have going there that should blossom by the mid decade
Let’s not go all Phillies on this thing; but we still need to see some of that fine Jerry penmanship inked across some checks here soon
Who Id want to inherit GM-ship rights to today for next decade –
AL
West- Sea
East-Bos (gross!) but the Blue Jays would be fun as well
Central- CWS
If Jerry wants to trade, it should only be for guys who are controllable thru ’22 at least. The only Rockie player they should look at is Jon Gray because his road/home splits are so even. I just don’t understand not extending Jerry/Scotty at least thru the rebuild to see the vision thru … Jerry has done a superlative job, let him be at the helm to see the fruition of his labors. One or two year extension. If M’s let them walk after this season it proves ownership has no desire for anything but mediocrity in Seattle. But hey, mediocrity still pays the bills and you may even make a little money. That’s been their ethos for a long time,so sick & tired of it.
If Jerry wants to trade, it should only be for guys who are controllable thru ’22 at least. The only Rockie player they should look at is Jon Gray because his road/home splits are so even. I just don’t understand not extending Jerry/Scotty at least thru the rebuild to see the vision thru … Jerry has done a superlative job, let him be at the helm to see the fruition of his labors. One or two year extension. If M’s let them walk after this season it proves ownership has no desire for anything but mediocrity in Seattle. But hey, mediocrity still pays the bills and you may even make a little money. That’s been their ethos for a long time,so sick & tired of it.
The Mariners should trade three B prospects and Jerry DiPoto to the Nationals for Max Scherzer and their GM and sign Scherzer to an extension right away
It’s Cruz/berrios for Dunn/okeieffe/George Kirby. That’s the deal for the Mariners, doesn’t upset the clubhouse vibe, Cruz is loved here and berrios replaced Sheffield