Mariners fans waiting for Jerry Dipoto's next move after early Padres trade rumor hits

The word is that MLB's "GM rock star" is already pondering his next trade. And if that's true of San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, it makes you wonder what "Trader Jerry" is cooking in the Seattle Mariners front office.

Not much, apparently. Or at least, that's assuming Jerry Dipoto wasn't playing public 3-D chess during his latest interview with ESPN's Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast. When asked about the state of the league and potential sellers, Dipoto didn't sound especially urgent.

“Right now the league is just hovering, and I think that bodes well for the more talented groups, provided you get healthy,” Dipoto said. “And whoever gets healthiest the soonest and converts it to wins, wins the league. That’s the way it’ll be.”

This is not an unreasonable take on the state of baseball right now, particularly for an American League stuck in a mediocrity doom loop. Precisely because of said loop, Dipoto may also be right that there won't be "a lot of teams that are natural sellers."

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, however, the Padres are already exploring the trade market in search of help for their bullpen. It's seemingly the last thing they need, but Preller clearly wants to reinforce his team's greatest strength now so it doesn't burn out before the August 3 trade deadline.

Jerry Dipoto should take after A.J. Preller instead of waiting on the Mariners' problems to fix themselves

There could also be another strategy for Preller, and it relates to what Dipoto was talking about. Since it is indeed unclear how many sellers there will be come July, doesn't it make sense to go after teams that could be willing to sell now, before others get a chance to pick them clean?

If that is indeed Preller's thinking, then you have to hand it to him. Even if it's not right away, his aggressiveness could potentially give him a decisive leg up in pursuits of targets like Aroldis Chapman and Josh Hader.

As far as we're concerned, Dipoto also needs to have Chapman firmly on his radar. And while his roster otherwise doesn't have any glaring needs — and even fewer once Cal Raleigh, Brendan Donovan and Gabe Speier are off the IL — it's not too soon to shave down some rough edges.

Better right-handed bats off the bench would be nice. That's supposed to be Rob Refsnyder's domain, but he's been so bad that even his $6.25 million salary shouldn't shield him from consequences. A righty-hitting utility guy to pair with Donovan once he's healthy would also be nice.

Addition by subtraction should also be on the table. The Mariners have already decided that Luis Castillo isn't good enough to start for them anymore. Instead of keeping him banished to the bullpen, maybe there's a trade to be made with a team that's desperate for a starter?

The probability of Dipoto doing something on the trade market is surely greater than zero. That "Trader Jerry" monicker didn't come from nowhere, after all, and the club's playoff runs from 2022 and 2025 prove he can be especially aggressive when he smells a playoff berth.

Normally, a 24-27 record through 51 games necessitates more caution. But given what happened last October and how the Mariners are only 2.5 games out in the AL West, Dipoto has the excuses he needs to treat this year differently.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow