Seattle Mariners: Jerry Dipoto is back to baseball and he’s talking
More Starters
Shifting the dialogue from hitters to pitchers, Dipoto said that the Seattle Mariners would look for starting pitchers who are either front-end or mid-rotation starters. They will not be looking at backend starters. If they want to acquire a front-end starter, this will most likely have to be done via trade as there are not many, if at all, front-end starters left on the free-agent market. But there are still some free-agent mid-rotation starters available as well.
An opener
Finally, Dipoto also mentioned that they could be interested in a pitcher that can start (opener) or come out of the pen. This is the M’s backup plan if they can’t land a front-end or mid-rotation starter. This type of player might be tricky to get as there doesn’t appear to be someone on the free-agent market. It might mean the team converts someone.
For example, last year, the Dodgers acquired starter Danny Duffy and used him out of the pen. Could he be an opener (if needed) for the Seattle Mariners and work out of the bullpen? Or might Dipoto look towards another reclamation project, like a Chris Archer or Dylan Bundy type?
We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out. Regardless, I’m super excited that baseball is ready to get underway and am even more excited to see how the rest of free agency plays out. Let’s keep in mind that Dipoto didn’t get his nickname “Trader Jerry” by sitting on his hands and watching TV.