Mariners fans will love the story of how Jerry Dipoto robbed the Padres

One of the things my beloved late father used to say to me time and time again is that it was better to be lucky than good. Well, this saying came rushing back to me this week, thanks to a story shared by Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.

With the MLB 2025 trade deadline coming at the end of this month, Jesse Rogers of ESPN put together an article which shared some of the best trade stories by general managers around the league. It's an entertaining read, and wouldn't you know it includes some tales from Dipoto.

The 57-year-old shared stories from his days in with Los Angeles and Seattle, but the one which jumped out to us is for all intents and purposes a case of him helping the Mariners 'rob' the San Diego Padres.

A last minute deal for the Mariners and the rest is history

With the 2020 trade deadline ticking down on August 31, the Padres were in touch with the Mariners and asking for reliever Taylor Williams.

This is where we'll let Dipoto take up the story: [We're] inside of 10 minutes until the deadline. We've asked for a number of mainstream players. They said no. But they had a guy in their farm system who had thrown one inning as a minor leaguer after being drafted the previous year. Then COVID hit. That was Matt Brash. We were so close to the deadline that I heard AJ (Preller) cup the phone and yell, 'BRASH?' to one of his assistants. Then he gets back on and says, 'We'll do it.' "

What really sells the story is the way Dipoto goes on to admit it's the only deal he has ever completed without seeing the medicals, due to there just being no time. You also have to laugh when he concludes by saying Brash has been good for the Mariners.

Talk about an understatement! Following an underwhelming rookie season in 2022, Brash started to find his feet during his second year, helped by a slider which was/is arguably the best weapon on the Mariners pitching staff. He led all Major League relievers with 78 appearances, in the process recording a 3.06 ERA, 2.26 FIP and 107 strikeouts over 70.2 combined innings.

Matt Bash better than ever since returning from injury

Unfortunately for the Mariners, disaster struck last year as Brash had to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2024 season. However, since returning in early May, he quickly became entrenched as the second-best reliever on the team behind two-time All-Star Andrés Muñoz.

In fact Brash has been ridiculously good in 19.1 combined innings spread over 21 appearances, highlighted by allowing just one run for a 0.47 ERA. What's also particularly of note is his 1.034 WHIP, down considerably from 1.559 and 1.330 in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

As final evidence of just how lucky Dipoto was with Brash, Williams never panned out in San Diego and is now pitching for Algodoneros de Unión Laguna in Mexico. (Although lets give Williams some kudos, with him being named a Mexican League All-Star in 2024.) Mariners fans can only keep their fingers crossed that Dipoto has a similar level of good fortune in the trade market between now and July 31.