‘Ready to transact’: Dipoto re-engages market

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The quip was short, sweet, well-executed and humorous enough that Jerry Dipoto might as well have printed it on a T-shirt and wore it during his first public address in exactly 100 days.

“I woke up ready to transact,” the Mariners’ president of baseball operations said on Friday.

Indeed, less than 24 hours after MLB and the MLB Players Association ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that ended a transaction freeze, Dipoto said that he’d checked in with just about each of the Mariners’ free-agent and trade targets, reigniting conversations that were put on hold for more than three months due to the lockout that began on Dec. 1.

“We picked up right where we left off,” Dipoto said. “There's a lot of backfill. Right around Thanksgiving, we were deep in conversation with a number of free agents and the potential for trades, and then obviously, it's been a dark couple of months since then. ... There has been a lot of reconnecting and determining whose situation may or may not have changed with the agreement yesterday and what the situation is going forward. It’s been a lot of catch up. I wouldn't say that our position hasn't changed.”

? Here’s where Mariners stand ahead of 2022

The Mariners were already expected to be among the most active teams in the coming days in acquiring impact talent, and Dipoto’s commentary and tone reiterated as much. The club’s roster voids are clear -- the need for at least one run-producing bat, if not more -- with preference, but not insistence, on lefties. Seattle’s offense last year ranked 18th with a 93 wRC+ (league average is 100), and their .385 slugging percentage was fifth-worst.

The Mariners were deeply engaged with free-agent All-Stars Trevor Story and Kris Bryant before the lockout, according to sources, as well as Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki -- all of whom are right-handed. Again, that won’t preclude the Mariners, who operate with priority on acquiring the best talent rather than fit. Seattle also loves Oakland’s Matt Chapman, another righty, though the two-time Platinum Glove Award winner would cost a hefty trade haul. Free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto, who grew up in the Seattle area, has been linked to the Mariners and bats lefty.

“We want to add some impact to our offense,” Dipoto said. “And we believe that minimally, we want to go get one impact bat, whether that's free agency or trades remains to be seen. And if we can manage to swing both, we’d like to get two. They're likely to play on the left side of our field; some combination of third base, left field, DH, is what we're looking for."

? 5 questions still facing the Mariners for 2022

With $102 million in projected payroll for the 40-man roster, per Cots Baseball Contracts, Dipoto has the financial flexibility to spend in free agency. And with the No. 2-ranked farm system, per MLB Pipeline, he has the prospect capital to get him a seat at the table for just about any trade target. For a team coming off a 90-win season and an ambitious fanbase desperate to snap a 20-year playoff drought, it’s as ideal of a position to be in.

“We have committed to adding payroll to our roster,” Dipoto said. “We have the flexibility to do it, and frankly, we've already done some of that and don't intend to stop. So, if the players line up, we have the flexibility to add them. It takes two to tango. We have to find the right player and the right trade match, but we do have the financial flexibility.”

One roster priority that has changed since the lockout is the Mariners’ assessment of their rotation. After its depth was battered throughout last season, management believed in the need for a back-end arm. Yet after watching many of their top pitching prospects during Minors camp, Dipoto’s scope has shifted, and the front office plans to allocate playing time to the up-and-comers rather than a low-cost, high-innings free agent.

Matt Brash (the Mariners’ No. 10 prospect) was called up during the season’s final week last year. George Kirby (No. 3) has looked stellar in Minors camp and will be up sooner than later. Brandon Williamson (No. 7) and Levi Stoudt (No. 9) are also progressing quickly.

If the Mariners were to add another starter, it’d likely be of a higher ilk. They were very high on Cincinnati’s Sonny Gray before the shutdown, and a trade package with Oakland involving Chapman and one of their many available starters -- Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea -- on paper could make sense. But it’s perhaps not as prominent of a priority given the emergence of their talent of tomorrow.

“We also would like to add a multi-function pitcher who gives us the ability to step in and start Major League games, but is functional in a bullpen role as well so that we can manage the ascension of those guys that I just mentioned, when it's their time,” Dipoto said.

It’s also possible that their prospect pitching surplus could be used as trade chips. The Mariners won’t trade Kirby or Julio Rodríguez (MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect), and blossoming shortstop Noelvi Marte (No. 11) is probably fringe untouchable. But for the right return, anyone else could be in play.

“While you’ll never say never, it is hard to imagine the scenarios where we would trade the guys at the very top of that list,” Dipoto said. “I can't imagine a scenario where we would move Julio or George, because we just feel like those guys are on the doorstep to impact [our Major League team]. That being said, with others in our system, and we love our players, you have to give to get. And when you're talking about acquiring potential impact players, you're going to have to give potential impact prospects. We've certainly discussed it.”

Fans hoping to wake up to a blockbuster acquisition didn’t get their wishes. But that could change soon.

“Nobody seems to be in a crazy rush,” Dipoto said. “That being said, it would be hard for me to believe that the free agents on the market aren't champing at the bit to get into a camp and start working with a team. But you know how quickly that moves? I don't know.”