Seattle Mariners: Jerry Dipoto's 5 Best Trades

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Like most general managers in sports, Jerry Dipoto is criticized for the things he’s gotten wrong more than the things he’s gotten right. With “Jerry Season” fast approaching, I thought it’d be appropriate to give credit where credit’s due and look at the best moves from the MLB’s most active GM.

Say what you want about Dipoto’s regime, but you cannot deny that the offseason has never been boring with the former Major League reliever at the helm. Since 2015, being a Mariners fan in the Winter months has almost become just as exciting as the actual season. You could wake up any day and find that Dipoto and co. have executed another trade or free agent signing.

This regime has made acquisitions way more often than any other team in the Majors, and by a wide margin. Nearly 70 trades in, Dipoto has reshaped the Mariners’ organization from top to bottom and has shown a willingness to never stay complacent with the roster he currently has. Despite dealing with a restrictive payroll and mediocre farm system, Dipoto has never stopped short of trying to make his ballclub better and more competitive.

That will continue this offseason, in perhaps Dipoto’s toughest task to date. The Mariners are without a lot of payroll flexibility, and the farm situation remains the same. Félix Hernández‘s contract comes off the books next year, which gives them some room to breathe, but Dipoto’s Mariners may find themselves struggling to piece together a contender in the interim.

Still, no other GM has been anywhere near as active as Dipoto has, and that won’t change anytime soon. While he may not be the best general manager in the game, he may very well be the most creative. And that creativity has shone through plenty of times in the past, which takes us to the topic at hand: Jerry Dipoto’s five best deals he’s made over the course of his first three years in Seattle.

NOVEMBER 18, 2016: ACQUIRED LHP JAMES PAZOS FROM NEW YORK

BOSTON, MA – JUNE 22: James Pazos #47 of the Seattle Mariners pitches in the bottom of the sixth inning of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on June 22, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Not much was known about James Pazos before Jerry Dipoto swung a deal for him with Brian Cashman’s Yankees. He was a downhill thrower with a lot of strikeout potential, but struggled when given the opportunity to pitch at the Major League level. Seattle was also giving up on Zack Littell, who was quickly rising the ranks to be one of their top pitching prospects in a relatively depleted farm system.

Honestly, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense at first. Pazos had some potential, but Littell was close to being Major League ready and the M’s were desperate for young starting pitching talent. Well, this is one of those deals that shows that the front office may know a little bit more than you do as a fan.

Pazos has gone on to be one of the more dominant presences in Seattle’s bullpen over the last two season, and despite a significant regression late in 2018, Pazos was one of the better left-handed relievers in baseball last year. Meanwhile, Littell was involved in a trade that awarded the Yankees Jaime García, and disappointed in his first season with the Twins.

Left-handed relief is a very thin market in the MLB, so getting solid production out of Pazos for cheap and with four more years of club control is a great deal for Seattle moving forward.

NOVEMBER 16, 2015: ACQUIRED OF LEONYS MARTÍN FROM TEXAS

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 30: Leonys Martin #12 of the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on September 30, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

I’ll spoil it now: the Ben Gamel trade missed the cut because of this deal. Why? Because the Leonys Martín trade with the Rangers introduced us to the phenomenon of “Trader Jerry.” But not only did it do that, it also gave the Mariners fanbase a sign of changes to come, showing that not all trades end in sorrow for Seattle.

I don’t really care that things ultimately didn’t well for Martín’s time in the Pacific Northwest. Jerry Dipoto fleeced the Rangers in this deal. Martín went on to have a spectacular first half of the 2016 season, both on the field and off. He helped changed the culture of the Mariners’ clubhouse, making the life of then-rookie manager Scott Servais much easier to build a family dynamic with his roster.

The centerpiece in the package returning to Texas was Tom Wilhelmsen, a fan favorite in Seattle. After an atrocious start to the 2016 season, Wilhelmsen was quickly waived and wound up back in a Mariners uniform that June. The speed-demon outfielder James Jones found himself converted into a pitcher, which has not gone well for him, and Patrick Kivlehan has been with five different organizations since the trade.

Even with Martín’s relatively quick departure, this trade was one of the most important and successful deals of Dipoto’s tenure with the Mariners thus far.

JULY 21, 2017: ACQUIRED LHP MARCO GONZALES FROM ST. LOUIS

ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 22: Marco Gonzales #32 of the Seattle Mariners pitches in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington on September 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

I’ll admit it, I was one of the many Mariners fans who were extremely skeptical of this deal. But you know what? I was wrong. We all were. Marco Gonzales appears to be the real deal, and I’d much rather have a good starting pitcher than an exciting outfielder with a ton of raw power.

Letting Tyler O’Neill go did hurt, and it still stings a little to this day. Once regarded as Seattle’s second best prospect, trading O’Neill straight up for Gonzales felt like a massive overpay that came from mere desperation. The M’s had a well-documented case of the ouchies with their rotation throughout the 2017 campaign, and starting pitching was absolutely needed if they wanted to remain in playoff contention. O’Neill was seemingly a great piece to include in a package for someone of the All-Star variety, instead of a young starter coming off of Tommy John surgery.

Clearly the value fans placed on O’Neill was not shared by the rest of the league, and for good reason. O’Neill showed no signs of being more than a high power, high strikeout player that only served his worth on a highlight reel. While he showed some flashes of greatness in 2018, O’Neill backed up this projection by hitting for a .500 slugging percentage but also striking out at an abysmal 40.1% clip in 61 games.

In Seattle, Gonzales was arguably one of the American League’s best pitchers, aside from a poor August. Only two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Gonzales is well ahead of schedule in production and may only get better from here. That’s really exciting, and all credit goes to Jerry Dipoto for taking that kind of risk on him.

MAY 25, 2018: ACQUIRED RHP ÁLEX COLOMÉ AND OF DENARD SPAN FROM TAMPA BAY

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 29: Relief pitcher Alex Colome #48 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after pitching the eighth inning of a game against the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field on September 29, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won the game 4-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /

Robinson Canó had been suspended for 80 games and Dee Gordon hit the disabled list with a toe injury, yet Seattle was 29-20 and starting to lay claim on the American League’s second Wild Card. Jerry Dipoto had to do something to keep his team in the hunt, and he did that and much more with this deal with the Rays.

While the Mariners did give up two of their better starting pitching prospects, this was more of a salary dump for the Rays than anything. Tampa has always been a forward-thinking team, encouraged by the lack of financial flexibility the team’s ownership has never provided. Seattle became the benefactors of this stance, receiving two of the best players the Rays could offer for a relatively discounted price.

Álex Colomé had been one of the MLB’s more sought-after relief pitchers on the trade market, and the M’s reaped the benefits of taking him out of his usual closer’s role and building him into a bridge to Edwin Díaz. That would have made the trade worth it enough as is, but adding Denard Span to the equation sent the value of this deal well over the moon. Span quickly became one of Seattle’s most consistent hitters, offering more pop than projected and getting on base at a .329 clip.

While Span may depart this offseason due to his $12 million club option, the boost he provided in the absence of Canó was spectacular. Colomé’s role will remain the same, once again giving Seattle one of baseball’s best one-two punches out of the bullpen.

NOVEMBER 24, 2016: ACQUIRED SS JEAN SEGURA AND OF MITCH HANIGER FROM ARIZONA

SEATTLE, WA – JUNE 29: Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his two run home run as he jogs back to the dugout in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Safeco Field on June 29, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Getty Images) /

Taijuan Walker was often regarded as the future of the Mariners organization, and while he never reached his ace potential in Seattle, he showed flashes of being a serviceable starter who could blossom into a star. Rumors would come ago about Walker being shopped around, potentially in a package to acquire an All-Star or two. He was even packaged in a deal to Arizona for Justin Upton, which was ultimately vetoed by the latter.

So when the Diamondbacks finally got Walker, it felt a bit overdue and that maybe the M’s had potentially missed their shot on getting an organization-defining superstar for the young pitcher. Even though they were getting back the defending National League batting champion in Jean Segura, the shortstop’s history of mediocre play in Milwaukee gave Seattle’s fanbase a bit of anxiety about his strong potential of regression.

When being interviewed about this trade, Jerry Dipoto constantly reminded the press and the public not to overlook the acquisition of Mitch Haniger. Now that the 2018 season has concluded, Haniger has perhaps surpassed Segura for the most valuable player of this deal. Haniger has seemingly come out of nowhere, providing MVP-level production out of the team’s right field position.

Next. 6 Mariners Prospects Who May Make Their Debut in 2019. dark

Both players were selected to the 2018 American League All-Star team, with Segura delivering a clutch three-run homer. Meanwhile, Walker has unfortunately fallen victim to Tommy John surgery and Ketel Marte has been an above-average utility infielder for the Diamondbacks. While both Marte and Walker still have some potential, this deal is still so lopsided in the Mariners’ favor that it’s not even funny.

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Seattle Mariners: Jerry Dipoto’s 5 Best Trades

NOVEMBER 18, 2016: ACQUIRED LHP JAMES PAZOS FROM NEW YORK

NOVEMBER 16, 2015: ACQUIRED OF LEONYS MARTÍN FROM TEXAS

JULY 21, 2017: ACQUIRED LHP MARCO GONZALES FROM ST. LOUIS

MAY 25, 2018: ACQUIRED RHP ÁLEX COLOMÉ AND OF DENARD SPAN FROM TAMPA BAY

NOVEMBER 24, 2016: ACQUIRED SS JEAN SEGURA AND OF MITCH HANIGER FROM ARIZONA

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