“All-Dipoto Acquisition Team” Mariners edition: Starting Pitching

General Manager Jerry Dipoto has made a ton of moves since taking over the Mariners. So many, in fact, that you could build a whole team out of them. So, that is exactly what we did.

If you guys have not been listening to the Sodo Mojo Podcast (available on iTunes and Google Podcast) you may have missed the announcement, but over the past week, we have been pouring over Jerry Dipoto’s moves with the Mariners in an attempt to build the best team we could.

The rules are pretty simple: anybody who Jerry Dipoto has traded for, signed as a free agent, drafted, or claimed on waivers is eligible for this list. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. The player acquired must have been a member of the organization during the season so, no, Carlos Santana does not count.

In addition, we made a special exception for closer extraordinaire Edwin Diaz. Why the special treatment? Many Mariners’ fans may have forgotten this, but Diaz came through the organization as a starting pitcher. It was Dipoto who moved him to the bullpen, thus creating the player we know today.

While technically not a transaction, it has set up so many big moves from Seattle, including the Diaz and Robinson Cano trade for Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, and others. Not giving this credit to Dipoto for recognizing Diaz’s potential out of the pen would be like forgetting that he once traded Chris Taylor for Zach Lee, so Diaz is the lone exception to our transaction rule.

Also, since this is the All-Dipoto team, players he inherited from the previous regime are not eligible. This means no Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, or Felix Hernandez. However, if Dipoto inherited a player and then re-signed him, he is eligible for this list. Re-signings are technically transactions.

Finally, and it should go without saying, but this particular transaction team is only for players acquired by Dipoto, not those traded away. Believe me, that list is coming later and maybe more fun than this one. But with all that in mind, let’s unveil the starting rotation of the All-Dipoto Transaction Team!