Brady's Spin: The Seattle Mariners Need to Move on From Jerry Dipoto
The Seattle Mariners need to move on from President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto at season's end.
I don't know if they will, given that Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic' wrote on Tuesday that it would be an upset if Dipoto doesn't return, but I'm rooting for the upset.
And let me be clear, this is a deviation for me. Up until yesterday, I was saying that I wanted Dipoto back. Now I don't.
Unlike most of the angry social media mob, this isn't really about baseball to me. I don't think that Dipoto "picks all the wrong players." Sure, I would have liked Nori Aoki or Nate Karns or Mallex Smith or Adam Frazier or Yusei Kikuchi or Kolten Wong or Jesse Winker to have worked out better, but I can appreciate the successes that Dipoto has had.
The Mariners drafted, developed and cultivated Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock. That's a huge win. The Mariners successfully turned Edwin Diaz into the best reliever in the game under Dipoto and Dipoto's regime identified Drew Steckenrider, Paul Sewald, Justin Topa and Collin Snider as guys with "more under the hood," and turned them into real big- league contributors. Dipoto also found Matt Brash in a savvy trade, and he turned into one of the best set-up men in the game.
If you think that Dipoto and his group only know pitching, I give you that they drafted and developed Kyle Lewis, who won an American League Rookie of the Year Award before a series of unfortunate injuries. Ty France DID make an All-Star Game in Seattle and JP Crawford (another Dipoto finding) turned in a phenomenal 2023. This doesn't even mention that they found, signed, developed and extended Julio Rodriguez, who had a great 2022 and 2023.
So yes, the drafting has been good. The development of pitching has good. The early-signings of Rodriguez and Crawford were smart. Dipoto is not the horrific roster builder that you all seem to think he is, at least not to the level that social media wants to say he is.
It no longer matters to me. It's time to move on.
Much like Scott Servais, I don't think Jerry Dipoto is horrible at his job. I just think it's time for a new voice. This season has shaken much of Mariners fandom to the core and it would be toxic to run it back like nothing is wrong with the organization. Look, you can't change the ownership as much as you want to, but you can change up the manager and the front office. They've pulled one lever, it's time to pull the other.
I don't know if they'll bring in someone better than Jerry Dipoto. I'm certainly nervous that they won't, but for the vibes sake, they need to try. And if there are a handful of players that don't like Dipoto and will be happy to play for someone else, then that's a win too.
This organization is at a crossroads, facing a 69-70 season that started with hope and expectation. This year has essentially been a waste. If they just run it back, next year has a chance to be a waste as well.
Time to pull the lever.
RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:
NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas releases a special holiday edition with @MarinerMuse, talking about the failures of this season and what comes next. CLICK HERE
NOW VICTOR MAKES HISTORY: OK, we thought Victor Robles already made team history, but evidently, now he reallyyyy has. CLICK HERE:
DIPOTO BACK in 2025? Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic seems to think so. CLICK HERE:
BRADY FARKAS