Jerry Dipoto is running the Seattle Mariners in circles
Lineup – The Hall-of-Pretty Good
As far as the current roster goes, Seattle lacks any high-end talent and is overly reliant on low-ceiling players. Ty France is fine as a supplemental piece, but I’m sorry to say a .276/.344/.436 slash line is not the makeup of a foundational player, certainly not at first base. He could move over to third once Seager goes, but that would force Abraham Toro to continue playing out of position as a second baseman.
Toro has a nice run going since joining the team. However, I assure you he is not Ryne Sandberg, Rogers Hornsby, or even Bret Boone. Over almost 300 career plate appearances, his slash rate of .193/.276/.350 was far from inspiring. Maybe Toro turns into a rich man’s Cesar Hernandez. But it’s more likely he’s a .260 hitter with a little pop. To quote Harry Doyle (Major League), “I think I’ll wet my pants.”
As far as the rest of the lineup goes, they have Luis Torrens (who is Joey Gallo with half the home runs and no defensive value), as well as the soon-to-be, departed Haniger and Seager. Then there are J.P. Crawford and Kyle Lewis, who fit right in with possibly adequate duo of Toro and France and a few other non-entities. Kelenic looks good since his recall, but so did Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero.
Pitching – Quantity over quality
The rotation consists of Yusei Kikuchi, Marco Gonzales, Anderson, Logan Gilbert, and Chris Flexen. If Dipoto’s goal is three or four 3’s and a 2, he hit his target. Justus Sheffield is lurking around with third-starter aspirations, so maybe that’s still a possibility. The bullpen has proved solid with a few surprising seasons from journeymen. Even so, I wouldn’t hold my breath on a repeat performance.
Dipoto has kept the team in a perpetual state of “two years away” for almost six years. He’s the equivalent of a restaurateur who changes the menu and decor every three years. But he keeps the same terrible chef and waitstaff and can’t figure out why his business doesn’t improve. It’s time to move on from Jerry Dipoto. Maybe with a new GM, they can contend in…oh, I don’t know…how does two years sound?
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below or on social media.