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Jerry Dipoto’s 5 Best Moves as Seattle Mariners General Manager

By Colby Patnode

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 11: Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto watches batting practice before a game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 11, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The Rangers won the game 2-1 in eleven innings. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 11: Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto watches batting practice before a game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 11, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The Rangers won the game 2-1 in eleven innings. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /
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2. Trading for Alex Colome and Denard Span

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 26: Denard Span #4 of the Seattle Mariners reaches for a fly out to left by Jed Lowrie #8 of the Oakland Athletics in the first inning during their game at Safeco Field on September 26, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 26: Denard Span #4 of the Seattle Mariners reaches for a fly out to left by Jed Lowrie #8 of the Oakland Athletics in the first inning during their game at Safeco Field on September 26, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

The 2018 Seattle Mariners appeared destined to break the then 16-year long playoff drought as the team got off to a hot start and everything appeared to be clicking. Then, disaster struck as Robinson Cano was hit with an 80 game suspension for violating MLB’s PED policy.

Faced with the prospect of missing their best all-around hitter, Jerry Dipoto had 3 options. He could either; A. wait a few months and see how the team responded, B. try to fill the hole with his meager farm system, or C. get aggressive and find a way to patch the hole without overpaying in the trade market.

He opted for option C and on May 25th Dipoto finalized a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, acquiring outfielder Denard Span and reliever Alex Colome in exchange for Andrew Moore, Tommy Romero, and cash.

The trade kept Seattle’s head above water and kept them afloat in a quickly tightening wild-card race. In 94 games, Span hit .272/.329/.435 with 15 doubles, 7 home runs, and 6 triples, which added up to a 1.0 bWAR for Seattle.

Colome quickly slotted into the set-up role, securing the 8th inning before handing the ball to Edwin Diaz in the ninth. In 47 games with Seattle, Colome posted a 2.53 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, a 162 ERA+, 9.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and a 1.3 bWAR.

The deal was a godsend to the Mariners that ultimately wasn’t enough for the Mariners to end their playoff drought. But Dipoto got the duo for practically nothing. Moore never pitched for Tampa and is back in the Seattle organization. Romero has thrown the ball well in the low minors but has just one appearance above High A ball.

Ultimately, Dipoto was then able to flip Colome to Chicago for one year of Omar Narvaez. Narvaez posted a 2.1 bWAR in 2019, bringing the grand total of 4.4 bWAR added as a direct result of this deal thus far. Dipoto was able to flip Narvaez for prospect Adam Hill and a Top 70 draft choice, so the final tally of this move may not be known for a good long while.

But the process was great, as were the results. And as a result of those two factors, this deal finds its way to number 2 on my list. But it may not stay that way for long.

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