Jerry Dipoto believes Seattle Mariners are improved after trade deadline deals
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 28: Randy Arozarena #56 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates after hitting a single in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 28, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Griffin Quinn / Getty Images)
The Seattle Mariners made four additions to their roster over the last week via trades ahead of Tuesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto believes those moves have made the team better for their push for the AL West title.
"I'm very proud of our group," Dipoto said Tuesday afternoon. "I think we did a nice job collectively of identifying the way this market was starting to head. And I think the fact that we were open to and willing to make decisions earlier than many teams, I think played to our advantage in this market.
"As the market started to develop over the course of the last four or five days, we were aggressive on the front end of it, really happy with what we were able to do and do. Feel like we're meaningfully better than we were a week ago."
The Mariners added outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays, first baseman Justin Turner and reliever Yimi Garcia in two separate trades with the Toronto Blue Jays, and reliever JT Chargois from the Miami Marlins.
The four deals executed by the Mariners didn't include any of their prospects that were among the highest -graded in the organization, but outfielder Jonatan Clase (Garcia deal), right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins and outfielder Aiden Smith (Arozarena deal), and outfielder RJ Schreck (Turner deal) were all pieces Seattle valued.
"Hopkins and Aiden Smith were very difficult for us to part with," Dipoto said. "They're guys that we really believed in. You know, RJ Schrek is a pop-up guy in our system. It's hard to perform better than he's performed over the last two and a half months, and he's also an 80-(grade) makeup guy. So you know, it's a tough guy to part with. And I don't want to down sell anyone else that we traded during this deadline, but you make decisions, and we made the decision that we feel like we have a chance to go win this division."
Dipoto said the Mariners were attempting to add even further ahead of the deadline, primarily seeking another infielder to add to the mix. They had been most heavily connected with Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz as another potential option. Toronto corner infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was also thought to be a target, though the Blue Jays appeared reluctant to make him available.
"We had other irons in the fire on bats, particularly infield bats. Ultimately, the players did not wind up moving," Dipoto said.
The biggest names that were being floated out there as potentially available, not sure how available they ever really were. ... The guys that were perhaps available were available for a microsecond. "I'm not sure that it ever felt like those were realistic targets for us."
Players of that caliber would have required a heavy package of prospects to wrestle free from their respective teams. However, no prospects ranked by Baseball America in the top 100 across all of Major League Baseball were part of deadline deals as standout pieces didn't seem to be really available.
"The last part shocks me. You know, the fact that no top 100 prospects changed hands," Dipoto said. "You know, I can say we talked about a lot of players that were in that general zone throughout the course of the last, you know, week or 10 days especially."
Arozarena was ultimately one of the biggest bats to be moved ahead of the deadline, and the Garcia deal for Clase was tremendous value given what other relievers commanded on the market.
The Mariners did attempt to solve the issues of their flawed roster, which saw a 10-game lead if the AL West disappear in a month. Garcia and Chargois add some reliable bullpen, while Arozarena and Turner make the lineup deeper and capable of more competitive at-bats. The offense will be at full strength when Julio Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford return from the injured list. Both players saw work on the field in Boston on Tuesday ahead of their game with the Red Sox.
"I think we should see Julio, I would hope, sooner than later," Dipoto said. "And, I think they, too, are energized by picking up a couple of new guys that really add some personality to a team that was in a tough spot for the last 30 days. We needed a little bit of juice."
Seattle also dealt reliever Ryne Stanek to the New York Mets for minor league outfielder Rhylan Thomas, and sent first baseman Ty France to the Cincinnati Reds with cash considerations for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo. However, the four additions to the major league roster were the moves of significance for the team ahead of the deadline.
"This year we feel like we're in a more meaningful position as opposed to any of the last three years, really, because this year we have an opportunity to go win a division and and that's very different than playing for, you know, a second or third wild card in a lot of ways," Dipoto said. "So we took it seriously, and I think we went in and, you know, while we might not have been able to do all the things we wanted to do, or dreamed of doing, you know, we did the things that we could do, and I think we made a meaningful difference in making our team better."