Mariners News: Edgar Martínez's new gig, Jerry Dipoto contract, Ichiro Hall of Fame

If you're looking for free agent or trade news, you're in the wrong place. In fact, if you might even be a fan of the wrong team. Despite nonstop calls for the Seattle Mariners' front office to do something — anything — fans have received little news that would appease them.

In the meantime, they'll have to settle for updates regarding other happenings around the organization.

Edgar Martínez earns spot on Puerto Rican WBC team

Some of the most exciting baseball ever played has been during the World Baseball Classic. As baseball's premier international tournament, 2023 saw an unprecedented level of talent participate and it'll only increase heading into the 2026 iteration. Many countries have started a figurative arms race to recruit their best talent to play and, just like MLB, it all starts with building a standout front office.

Puerto Rico has never won the tournament but is a perennial top contender. In 2023, they went on an incredible run, defeating the Dominican Republic to advance to the quarterfinals where they ultimately lost in a closely contested game against Mexico.

To help assemble the next roster, Edgar Martínez was recently recruited to be a part of his country's baseball operations staff, along with fellow legends Carlos Delgado, Iván Rodríguez, and Roberto Alomar. Led by Carlos Beltrán as the general manager and Yadier Molina as the field manager, the coaching staff alone has three Hall of Famers and two more potential future inductees. With a plethora of prodigal talent to choose from, they'll undoubtedly be one of the most exciting teams to watch.

This could be Jerry Dipoto's last year with the Mariners

Dipoto was first hired all the way back in 2015 and has had his contract extended twice. The last extension was granted in 2021, but was for an unspecified amount of time so it wouldn't be out of the question that he's coming up on the end of his current agreement.

His tenure as the president of baseball operations has been met with mixed reviews. On one hand, the team has been above .500 for six out of the nine seasons he has been with the organization. One of those years featured breaking the longest postseason drought in American sports at the time. On the other hand, the year the team broke the drought was also the only time they've made it October. Dipoto's time in office has been characterized with a lack of spending and an infamous aspiration to win "54% of games."

This could be the make-or-break year for him. If Seattle manages to deploy an unthinkably clever Moneyball strategy that nets them a deep playoff run on a shoestring budget, he'll be heralded as a genius and be granted a few more years of power. If the Mariners fall short once again, ownership might finally be forced to make a front office change if they want any chance of retaining fan trust.

Part of the Moneyball philosophy is making aggressive trades for undervalued players and identifying ways to capitalize on the current strength of the organization's farm system, but if it isn't the last year of his contract, Dipoto may still choose to play it safe and ride out another 80-win season without a playoff berth.

Ichiro could be the second player to enter Hall of Fame unanimously

When it comes to Ichiro Suzuki, there are several statistical anomalies one could discuss. First, he holds the single season hit record at 262, an accomplishment that may stand the test of time. After all, the previous record held by George Sisler (257) lasted 84 years before being surpassed by the Japanese phenom.

Second, no one else has strung together 10 consecutive seasons with 200+ hits, a streak Ichiro started the second he made his major-league debut. Thus, it makes sense that, thirdly, no one will ever reach the 3,000-hit club as quickly as he did.

He may also now be in the running for another rare statistical category: becoming the second-ever player to be unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame. Based on the nearly 100 BBWAA ballots that have been publicly released, Ichiro is the only name to still hold a perfect record. If he does make it through with a "yes" from every voter, he'd join Mariano Rivera as the only other player ever to do so.

In addition to his past years of service with the team, Ichiro continues to be active with the club, even going so far as to take part in serious recruiting efforts of new talent from his home country. While those efforts may be in vain, it's just one example of how his legend in Seattle continues to grow even years after he last took the field.