The rehabilitation of Jerry Dipoto's Mariners reputation is prematurely underway

Jerry Dipoto hasn't had the smoothest of tenures as president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners. After being promoted to the position in September 2021, the Mariners did manage to sneak into the AL Wild Card the following season, but it didn't take long for him to lose that established goodwill.

First, he made the infamous mistake of claiming that the organization's goal was to "win 54 percent of the time" after the 2023 regular season — a statement that, while sensible when analyzed more closely, was worded incredibly poorly. Second, he made underwhelming offseason acquisitions like Robbie Ray and Mitch Garver. Individuals in the front office are often under intense scrutiny, but given the lack of present winning and obvious signs of life, many felt that Dipoto would doom the organization to perpetual mediocrity.

Jerry Dipoto's Mariners rep has improved, but one thing is still missing

But things are different now. The Mariners just won the AL West for the first time since 2001, they got a first-round bye, and are seen as legitimate World Series contenders. On the minor league side of things, they have one of the most robust farm systems in MLB thanks to outstanding draft and development efforts over the past few years.

More importantly, Dipoto seems to have won the trust of his players.

"He's been here a long time, and he's done a great job putting this thing together. And just sticking with the process. He wants to win just as bad as any of us in this clubhouse. I give credit to him, going out at the [Trade] Deadline, adding the pieces. ... That’s what we needed. So, credit to him. He's put together a really solid roster, top to bottom, and it starts with him."

Cal Raleigh on Jerry Dipoto

In a recent conversation with MLB's Daniel Kramer, Dipoto spoke about how he felt much of the criticism that come his way was, while sometimes a little harsh, absolutely fair and necessary to get the organization on the right path. He also acknowledged the recurring disappointment felt by players falling short over and over again.

"We’ve learned a ton of lessons over the course of the last four or five seasons, and so many players in that clubhouse have experienced the disappointment that we felt in a number of different seasons."

Jerry Dipoto

It's easy to be introspective and optimistic when things are going well, and things haven't been this good for the Mariners in years. However, their postseason work is just getting started. They're facing off against a resurgent Tigers squad in the Division Series and are already dealing with some key pitching injuries, not to mention an 0-1 deficit in the series. If the team fails to get past these two obstacles, will Dipoto's reputation go right back to square one?

The Mariners' 2025 postseason run has the potential to be a major inflection point in this franchise's history. On one hand, it could be the year that the team finally casts off the shackles of being the only active team to have never made it to the World Series. It could even be the one where Cal Raleigh gets his wish and the team goes all the way. On the other hand, it could be an anomalous season of success to be drowned out later by a return to the historically established precedent of being average.

At this point, it's out of Jerry Dipoto's hands but with his name on the line, he'll be just as invested in the team's October success as Seattle's biggest fans and his staunchest critics.