Mariners' Jerry Dipoto confusingly squashes contract buzz ahead of Opening Day

The lead-up to Opening Day last year was a glorious one for Mariners fans, with the surprising announcement of Cal Raleigh signing a long-term (and team-friendly) contract extension just two days before facing the Athletics. Just don't count on a similar announcement this time around, based on comments by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.

Dipoto was making an appearance on MLB Network Radio, when the discussion turned to getting another long-term deal done this year with one or more players. However, while the 57-year-old said the likelihood is high, nothing is expected in the immediate future and with it being important to add some context to his comments.

No one will ever deny Dipoto is an extremely intelligent person, but sometimes he isn't the best at putting across what he's trying to say, with the prime example of his 54 percent remark following the 2023 season. It made more sense after he apologized and expanded on his original comments, but the initial collective reaction was one of frustration and anger. (Not helped by him saying he was doing the fanbase a favor, despite being the only active franchise to never play in the World Series.)

Jerry Dipoto makes his point in a roundabout kind of a way, that no long-term extensions are imminent

With this in mind, critics could be forgiven for thinking they were listening to be bit of a confusing word salad when Dipoto was asked if any last-minute contract extensions were going to happen prior to Opening Day on Thursday versus the Guardians. He said:

"I would say that I'm hopeful, but I'd say it's also unlikely. We're working on a number of things, and the likelihood of us doing something long-term with one or more of our players in the foreseeable future is pretty high. The likelihood of it being between now and Opening Day is a little bit tougher of a task to fill."

Jerry Dipoto

Certainly, another contract extension for a key player in a similar vein to last year with Raleigh would have been a tremendous boost to the Mariners and their fanbase ahead of the 2026 season. However, we don't have a problem with Dipoto effectively admitting it's not going to happen. (Although just in case, keep in mind the Raleigh deal seemingly came out of nowhere with no prior rumblings or speculation.)

Some enticing options for the Mariners to consider as their next long-term extension signing

As for who the Mariners should be focused on extending next, Logan Gilbert seems to be the most obvious candidate, with him eligible to become a free agent after the 2027 season. However, as SoDo Mojo's Tremayne Person wrote last month, the front office has to at least tread carefully with Gilbert, with the timeline now less straightforward due to up-and-down performances following his return from a Grade 1 elbow flexor strain that kept him out for nearly two months last season.

Others will point towards Bryan Woo being a priority, and understandably so following a season where he all but officially became the Mariners staff ace and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting. However, at nearly three years younger than Gilbert and still with three seasons of arbitration eligibility following this campaign, there's not yet a ticking clock on the future of the 2025 All-Star.

We can also make a case for getting Cole Young and Colt Emerson tied up sooner than later, but at this juncture it's better to first see if they have the goods to become the MLB stars they're projected as. Overall though, with everything Dipoto has achieved since joining the organization back in 2015, he's now earned the right for fans to be as patient as him, when it comes to negotiating long-term contract extensions with key playing personnel.