Jerry Dipoto, Seattle Mariners.
On September 28th, 2015, the Seattle Mariners hired transaction-happy former Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto to their front office. After spending four tumultuous years with Los Angeles and one month in Boston, Dipoto found a home in Seattle. It’s been nearly seven years, and much has changed during his tenure.
Dipoto replaced Jack Zduriencik, who produced very poor results. In Zduriencik’s eight years, the Seattle Mariners were 583-713. They finished with a .500 or better record twice, which was also the only two times they finished out of the American League West cellar (but no higher than third place).
Never afraid to make a good deal, Trader Jerry came to town and blew up the status quo. These are Dipoto’s 10 best trades with the Seattle Mariners, plus some bonuses.
Adam Frazier for Ray Kerr and Corey Rosier (November 27, 2021) – Frazier was an All-Star and Pittsburgh’s best player before the Bucs moved him at last year’s deadline to San Diego. Dipoto hooked up frequent trade partner AJ Preller of San Diego, and Frazier became a Mariner without costing Seattle much at all.
Carlos Santana for Wyatt Mills and Josh Flemming (June 27, 2022) – Santana came over from Kansas City and had some clutch home runs before the more recent hitting drought struck, but it remains to be seen how this one turns out.
Diego Castillo for JT Chargois and Austin Shenton (June 29, 2021) – So far, there are mixed reviews on Castillo because of some inconsistencies in his performance and a misunderstood personality.
Dipoto would trade away Kristopher Negron a year later, but not before he impressed the Mariners with his baseball knowledge. When Negron retired after the 2019 season, the M’s hired him as an assistant to the director of player development.
In 2021, Negron managed the Tacoma Rainers. He is now the heir-apparent to the Seattle Mariners managerial throne. This trade could go down as the glue that put together an impressive run for the Mariners. Or it could be nothing, which is why it sits at #10.
Oft-injured lefty flame thrower, James Paxton, was traded away for current Mariners Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson. The latter of the two is an integral part of the Mariners relief corps.
Sheffield is only 26 years old and is at AAA Tacoma when he’s not rehabbing an injury or ineffectiveness. He made five appearances for Seattle this season, giving up only 2 hits in 6.2 innings. Ultimately the Mariners re-signed Paxton to a one-year, $8M contract in 2021 that netted the M’s just over an inning of use.
The deadline was four hours away, and the Seattle Mariners already made one massive trade with San Diego. The Padres wanted more. So Seattle sent their closer Taylor Williams to San Diego in exchange for the infamous Player To Be Named Later (PTBNL).
That player turned out to be a top 100 prospect coming into the 2022 season, Matt Brash. Now working out of the bullpen, Brash features a nearly triple-digit fastball.
There are mixed feelings about this trade, but landing Jean Segura ultimately led to the acquisition of JP Crawford (Further down this list).
Mitch Haniger has lost some time with injuries but was the face of the Seattle Mariners. He was a key factor in the M’s late run at a playoff berth last year. Taijuan Walker found his way back to the Mariners after Tommy John surgery and parlayed his success in Seattle into a nice contract with NYM.
Ketel Marte has been the face of the Diamondbacks since 2016. It was a win/win.
This trade is ranked here less for the players Seattle received and more for signaling that the Mariners were in rebuild mode. They eventually flipped Dunn as part of the Winker/Suarez deal. Gerson Bautista is playing in the Mexican League and currently has a 28.35 ERA in 9 appearances. Swarzak is out of baseball, and Jay Bruce retired. Leaving Justin Dunn (Reds IL) and Jarred Kelenic (just called up by the Mariners) as the only active players left.
More importantly, the Mariners got rid of the Robinson Cano contract just before he tested positive for PEDs (again) and was suspended for a year. Sadly, Edwin Diaz needed to go to make the deal happen.
December 3, 2018, was a busy day for the Mariners. It signaled that dipoto was taking Seattle in a different direction. The acquisition of defensive wizard J.P. Crawford proved to be one of the five best moves that Dipoto has made in his tenure as GM. Carlos Santana was flipped back to the Indians/Guardians two weeks later, but he eventually found his way back to the Mariners.
Crawford won a gold glove in 2020. He has proven to be more than a slick-fielding shortstop, he’s also the Mariners’ emotional leader.
The power-hitter for the finesse lefty that was coming back from Tommy John surgery. Marco Gonzales and Hanigar have been the Seattle Mariners’ constants since 2018. But more Marco than any other player on the Mariners roster.
To think that the Mariners have gone through such an overhaul that only two players remain on the squad five years later is a testament to how active of a GM Dipoto is.
Gonzales is also an emotional leader. While he’s struggling this year with little run support, his overall numbers since becoming a Mariner are really good, 53-42, 3.97 ERA. And his performance (7-2, 3.10 ERA) in the 2020 Covid-19 shortened season should’ve warranted Cy Young Award consideration.
In this one, the M’s had to give something to get something. Tyler O’Neill is a two-time Gold Glove winner and owns a .790 career OPS.
Signaling that their rebuild is officially over, the Seattle Mariners landed the best available pitcher on the market at the 2022 deadline. The jury is out on this one for sure, but Luis Castillo is a flame-thrower who will benefit from Seattle’s dimensions as well as the #1 defense in the league behind him.
This might go down as the best trade in Cincinnati’s history as well, with the talent that Seattle gave up for Castillo. The fact that the Mariners get him for the remainder of 2022 and all of 2023 is a huge plus. They get to pair him up with Robbie Ray as co-aces, which coincide with the rises of future aces Logan Gilbert and George Kirby,
The Mariners’ rotation should have their fans salivating for the next two years.
All-Stars Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker arrived in Seattle as 2022’s key offensive acquisitions to bolster an anemic offense. They didn’t really cost the Mariners a lot in prospect or future talent capital.
The big return for Cincy was Brandon Williamson. Since his promotion to Louisville (Triple-A), he is performing well, posting a 3.27 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 22 innings. The oft-injured Justin Dunn is 0-3 in 6 starts with Louisville, spending most of 2022 on the IL. Meanwhile, Fraley has had spotty opportunities with the Reds.
In this deal, the M’s got emotional leadership in Winker and Suarez and a surprisingly good fielding third baseman in Suarez. The jury is still a bit out on this one, but even if they stay at the levels they are right now, Winker and Suarez make this trade a massive win for Dipoto.
This may go down as the best trade the Mariners have ever made. They gave up a journeyman catcher and two relievers for an incredibly lopsided haul of prospects at the time.
All-Star first baseman Ty France, for those three alone, would’ve sufficed. He’s been their best hitter the last two seasons and is one of the American League’s best defensive first basemen.
Andres Munoz is the future Mariners closer and just completed back-to-back months where he was lights out, combining to go 0-2 with a 1.78 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. He only allowed 6 base runners in 12 innings in July. The righty regular throws a triple-digit fastball which he combines with a 90+ MPH slider.
Catcher Luis Torrens is struggling to stay healthy this year but had a coming-out party last season as an offensive threat, especially in September. Taylor Trammell was having a much better showing this year as opposed to what he did in 2021. Unfortunately, a nagging hamstring injury has kept him mostly on the injured list.
He has traded for and traded away outfielder Mallex Smith three total times. The 2019 American League stolen base leader is a free agent after Toronto released him in June. He has also traded for and away Carlos Santana three total times.
Since 2015, Dipoto has completed over 150 trades with Seattle, but he really likes to make same-day trades. Since arriving in the Emerald City, he did it three times.
On December 3, 2018, Dipoto traded away five Mariners and received eight in two different trades. August 31, 2020, he made two separate trades with the Padres. Though officially, Matt Brash didn’t become the PTBNL until September 17, 2020.
December 9, 2015 – Dipoto traded away Carlos Herrera, Daniel Missaki, and Freddy Peralta for Adam Lind. Peralta has gone on to be an All-Star pitcher for the Brewers and a strikeout machine, recording 503 career Ks in only 375.2 innings.
November 25, 2019 – Dipoto traded away NYY breakout performer Nestor Cortes for Future Considerations. Cortes, a 2022 All-Star, was an early candidate for the 2022 American League Cy Young.
Last year – Dipoto traded away Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero for Abraham Toro and Joe Smith. For the second straight year, Dipoto moved his closer at the deadline. Graveman was red-hot when this deal went down, and many fans saw this one as a massive error by Dipoto.
This year, Graveman has again struggled to stay healthy. After failing miserably in Seattle, Montero has been a fill-in closer for the Astros and absolutely dominant this season.
December 19, 2016 – Dipoto traded away Chris Taylor for Zach Lee. The Dodgers have kept the versatile All-Star ever since and signed him through the 2025 season on a 4-year, $60 million contract.
Still, there are plenty more hits than misses on Jerry Dipoto’s Seattle Mariners’ trade resume. He’s reshaped this team into a playoff contender.
Joe Swenson is a massive baseball fan and International Award-Winning Playwright. Look for his hit baseball play, The Final Out, coming out this September at VetRep in New York City, as well as possibly being recognized in the 20th Annual New Play Festival in Greenville, South Carolina. His play The Ammo Box debuts in Richland, Victoria, Australia, next year.