SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto thought the Mariners had one more move in them before Monday’s 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline, specifically on adding another leverage reliever.
But as Seattle’s president of baseball operations recounted in the Deadline’s aftermath a day later, the market for elite bullpen arms was not nearly as robust as in recent years.
And they weren’t willing to trade any of their very top prospects unless the return was “seismic.”
“We tried to stay in tune with other things that might help make the team a little better,” Dipoto said before Seattle’s 8-0 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday. “And unfortunately, we weren’t able to push anything else across.”
And each directly addressed Seattle’s two specific needs.
Ward should give the lineup a boost against left-handed pitching, and Domínguez will provide much-needed depth for a bullpen that’s been operating with seven arms instead of eight since mid-May.
Tuesday, Ward went 0-for-3, while Domínguez had a rough first appearance with the club, allowing four runs and only recording one out.
Dipoto also confirmed that the club did indeed listen on Emerson Hancock — and to a lesser extent, George Kirby, as MLB.com reported throughout the days leading up to the Deadline.
“We are always of the mindset that we will listen on anything,” Dipoto said. “We don’t hang up on anybody who’s got a suggestion.”
Dealing either of those two would’ve left them with just four starters, which would’ve forced them to either add another, legitimately consider Kade Anderson much sooner or done something else creative.
Because they were firmly not in sell mode.
“A rumor floated about George, and immediately, we got a waterfall of interest from around the league, but never actually engaged far beyond ‘Hello,’” Dipoto said.
With more starters moving at this Deadline than in years past, Hancock’s value was not as high as it might’ve been otherwise, with a more finite group of available arms.
“There was a lot of interest in Emerson out there, like you might expect,” Dipoto said. “He’s 27, a breakout starter, having a really good year, and we engaged. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been in the media the way it was. But we didn’t think that we were getting the appropriate value to feel good about moving someone who’s contributed as much as he has to feel good about that.”
Dipoto did add that Anderson is in the mix for the final stretch, but will remain stretched out as a starter. He’s now No. 6 on the depth chart, and the club will map out possibilities for him to impact the big league roster.
And that logic makes sense, as there was no blockbuster-type bat to be had this year comparable to Tarik Skubal among available pitchers.
Dipoto also reiterated what’s been clear for months about this Deadline.
With so many teams in contention and not nearly as many high-end players available, Seattle’s biggest improvements were always going to have to come from within.
“This is going to sound absurd to say — this is a tough roster to improve,” Dipoto said. “We’ve not played well. We’ve underperformed to our talent level, but finding upgrades from a player perspective in any of these positions leads you back to the best player is probably the one we have.”
The talent has always been here.
The Mariners have four former All-Stars in their starting lineup (Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor), three in their rotation (Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo), and another in their bullpen (Andrés Muñoz).
“We don’t need them to be the superstar versions of themselves,” Dipoto said. “But we have a deep lineup, and if this group performs to its ability, then we can do the things that we want to do.”
Moreover, the pedestrian American League West that they entered the season as the favorites to win is there for the taking, as Seattle entered Tuesday just three games back of first place despite sitting at 55-58.
For these reasons, Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander exercised a go-for-it approach to the Deadline. Now it’s up to the players, with a few proven reinforcements, to reach their potential.
