Jerry Dipoto blatantly got fans' hopes all the way up at Mariners FanFest

The Seattle Mariners held their annual FanFest at T-Mobile Park on Saturday. And as you'd expect for a team coming off a World Series near-miss in 2025, the vibes were good. Everyone is clearly excited about 2026, and that in itself is exciting.

Even Jerry Dipoto got in on the vibes-making. In fact, that he pretty much made two big promises that fans could come to celebrate — or lament, if the cookie ends up crumbling that way instead.

According to Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports, the Mariners' president of baseball operations indicated on two occasions that the team isn't finished adding to its roster. And in this case, he doesn't seem to merely be alluding to depth moves like the ones that team has been racking up lately.

“I do think there is one more player that is coming along for the ride that is not in a Mariners uniform just yet,” Dipoto said.

Jerry Dipoto blatantly gets Mariners fans' hopes up with talk of offseason shopping, Colt Emerson

This isn't too surprising, and the two names that come immediately to mind are Brendan Donovan and Eugenio Suárez. They've been the leading candidates to fill the hole left by Jorge Polanco's departure for a while now, and Suárez's market even seems to be trending in Seattle's direction.

That said, it is notable that Dipoto pretty much promised another noteworthy addition. This contradicts some of the more relaxed messaging coming out of the organization, such as the one that the club would actually be fine rolling with Cole Young at second base.

Which is basically to say: If Dipoto doesn't deliver and fans get pissed at him for it, he won't be able to place blame on something he said getting lost in translation.

Evidently in a "But wait, there's more!" sort of mood, Dipoto doubled down on big talk when he got around to discussing top prospect Colt Emerson. He's going to get a shot at the big club's third base job this spring, and Dipoto isn't exactly taking pressure off the kid.

“He’s not going to knock on the door. He’s just going to knock it down. You know when you are watching it,” Dipoto said. “We trust that if these guys come into spring training and do their thing and are ready to go, we are going to give them their chance.”

This, also, isn't terribly surprising. The Mariners are very obviously high on Emerson after his breakout year in the minors in 2025, which saw him ascend all the way from High-A Everett to Tripe-A Tacoma. And he does seem like a special player, both in terms of his talent and his Cal Raleigh-style makeup.

Once again, though, this is setting the bar for Mariners fans' expectations pretty high. Emerson is only 20 years old, and third base is not his natural position. Him earning the hot corner gig should be treated as more of a potential bonus, rather than a less-than-unspoken promise that it's going to happen.

Look, we love the confidence. And after earning Executive of the Year honors in 2025, Dipoto darn well should feel like he has the green light to take big swings. He's earned the right to be high on his own supply.

But if he's wrong about what he said at FanFest, Mariners fans aren't going to let him forget it.