Early Results of Dipoto's Offseason Player Transactions

[PolarVortex]

Ranking Dipoto’s offseason player transactions

As we all know, Dipotos was very busy this winter. He made 16 separate transactions that resulted in a change to the 25-man roster. I’ll attempt to rank them

1. Acquired: Karns, Powell, Riefenhauser (trade to Baltimore)
   
   Traded: Morrison, Miller Farquar
   
   Early results: Slam dunk win
   
   
2. Acquired: Wade Miley, Jonathon Aro
   
   Traded: Smith, Elias.
   
   Early results: Slam dunk win. This trade may eventually appear less lopsided now that Smith is on the 25-man roster.
   
   
3. Signed: Steve Cishek.
   
   Early results: Nice to have a closer who isn’t walking a tightrope every single time he goes out there.
   
   
4. Signed: Dae ho Lee
   
   Early results: Haven’t seen a part time player with this much impact since…..nobody really comes to mind
   
   
5. Signed: Chris ianetta:
   
   Early results: Stability, leadership, professionalism. Can’t complain.
   
   
6. Acquired: Leonys Martin, Anthony Bass (released)
   
   Traded: Wilhelmsen, James Jones, Kivlehan
   
   Early results: winning this trade. It would be nice to see Martin hit in a way that cimpliments his speed rather than trying to hit everything over the right field wall. But the defensive is outstanding. Wilelmsen has settled in after early season implosions against the Mariners and Orioles. He’s pitched very well over the last 9 games. Kivlehan has been a big disappointment so far at AAA.
   
   
7. Signed: Nori Aoki.
   
   Early results: Fair. I don’t care what his batting average is as long as his OBP is around .350. It’s sitting at .320 right now but I think it will improve. He sees a lot of pitches which benefits the guys hitting behind him. Defense is solid.
   
   
8. Acquired: Nick Vincent
   
   Traded: PTBNL or cash
   
   Early results: Winning this trade. Nick has been solid out of the pen and it seems the Service is saving his arm for games in which the Mariners are winning.
   
   
9. Signed: Joel Peralta
   
   Early results: Surprisingly solid. I don’t like this guy. He scares the piss out of me. But he is getting the job done somehow.
   
   
10. Signed: Hisashi Iwakuma
    
    Early results: doesn’t look too good so far. I expect him to go on the DL at any moment.
    
    
11. Acquired: Luis Sardinas
    
    Traded: Ramon Flores
    
    Early results: We are winning the trade, for whatever it is worth. It’s nice to have a dependable infield glove that can allow Cano and Seager to play DH occasionally.
    
    
12. Signed: Steve Johnson
    
    Early results: Filling in adequately for Zych. He hasn’t hurt us…yet. But he also hasn’t been given an opportunity to hurt us either.
    
    
13. Acquired: Joaquin Benoit
    
    Traded: Enyel De Los Santos.
    
    Early Results. Un-defined. De Los Santos is in A level minors and Benoit has been hurt all year. This trade was a salary dump by the Pads.
    
    
14. Acquired: Evan Scribner.
    
    Traded: Trey Cochrane-Gill.
    
    Early results: I bet you forgot about this one. Scribner has been hurt all year and Cochrane-Gill has had a mediocre start at the AA level.
    
    
15. Acquired: Adam Lind
    
    Traded: Freddie Peralta, Daniel Missaki, Carlos Herrera
    
    Early results: Dipoto whiffed big time. Lind has been wretchedly deplorable. We salary-dumped Trumbo to the Orioles so Milwaukee could salary-dump Lind to us. The net result was pretty awful
    
    
16. Acquired: Clevenger
    
    Traded: Trumbo, Riefenhauser
    
    Early results: Nothing wrong for Clevenger. I think he suits his role nicely. But Trumbo was hot his last two months here and he has come out of the gate hot for the Orioles. Dipoto whiffed big time here too. I don’t know what he was thinking. Either he didn’t want a right-handed hitting first baseman or maybe he perceived Trumbo as a Scoiscia loyalist. Who knows?
    

 

[NWinAZ]

Ranking Dipoto’s offseason player transactions

As we all know, Dipotos was very busy this winter. He made 16 separate transactions that resulted in a change to the 25-man roster. I’ll attempt to rank them

1. Acquired: Karns, Powell, Riefenhauser (trade to Baltimore)
   
   Traded: Morrison, Miller Farquar
   
   Early results: Slam dunk win
   
   
2. Acquired: Wade Miley, Jonathon Aro
   
   Traded: Smith, Elias.
   
   Early results: Slam dunk win. This trade may eventually appear less lopsided now that Smith is on the 25-man roster.
   
   
3. Signed: Steve Cishek.
   
   Early results: Nice to have a closer who isn’t walking a tightrope every single time he goes out there.
   
   
4. Signed: Dae ho Lee
   
   Early results: Haven’t seen a part time player with this much impact since…..nobody really comes to mind
   
   
5. Signed: Chris ianetta:
   
   Early results: Stability, leadership, professionalism. Can’t complain.
   
   
6. Acquired: Leonys Martin, Anthony Bass (released)
   
   Traded: Wilhelmsen, James Jones, Kivlehan
   
   Early results: winning this trade. It would be nice to see Martin hit in a way that cimpliments his speed rather than trying to hit everything over the right field wall. But the defensive is outstanding. Wilelmsen has settled in after early season implosions against the Mariners and Orioles. He’s pitched very well over the last 9 games. Kivlehan has been a big disappointment so far at AAA.
   
   
7. Signed: Nori Aoki.
   
   Early results: Fair. I don’t care what his batting average is as long as his OBP is around .350. It’s sitting at .320 right now but I think it will improve. He sees a lot of pitches which benefits the guys hitting behind him. Defense is solid.
   
   
8. Acquired: Nick Vincent
   
   Traded: PTBNL or cash
   
   Early results: Winning this trade. Nick has been solid out of the pen and it seems the Service is saving his arm for games in which the Mariners are winning.
   
   
9. Signed: Joel Peralta
   
   Early results: Surprisingly solid. I don’t like this guy. He scares the piss out of me. But he is getting the job done somehow.
   
   
10. Signed: Hisashi Iwakuma
    
    Early results: doesn’t look too good so far. I expect him to go on the DL at any moment.
    
    
11. Acquired: Luis Sardinas
    
    Traded: Ramon Flores
    
    Early results: We are winning the trade, for whatever it is worth. It’s nice to have a dependable infield glove that can allow Cano and Seager to play DH occasionally.
    
    
12. Signed: Steve Johnson
    
    Early results: Filling in adequately for Zych. He hasn’t hurt us…yet. But he also hasn’t been given an opportunity to hurt us either.
    
    
13. Acquired: Joaquin Benoit
    
    Traded: Enyel De Los Santos.
    
    Early Results. Un-defined. De Los Santos is in A level minors and Benoit has been hurt all year. This trade was a salary dump by the Pads.
    
    
14. Acquired: Evan Scribner.
    
    Traded: Trey Cochrane-Gill.
    
    Early results: I bet you forgot about this one. Scribner has been hurt all year and Cochrane-Gill has had a mediocre start at the AA level.
    
    
15. Acquired: Adam Lind
    
    Traded: Freddie Peralta, Daniel Missaki, Carlos Herrera
    
    Early results: Dipoto whiffed big time. Lind has been wretchedly deplorable. We salary-dumped Trumbo to the Orioles so Milwaukee could salary-dump Lind to us. The net result was pretty awful
    
    
16. Acquired: Clevenger
    
    Traded: Trumbo, Riefenhauser
    
    Early results: Nothing wrong for Clevenger. I think he suits his role nicely. But Trumbo was hot his last two months here and he has come out of the gate hot for the Orioles. Dipoto whiffed big time here too. I don’t know what he was thinking. Either he didn’t want a right-handed hitting first baseman or maybe he perceived Trumbo as a Scoiscia loyalist. Who knows?

Spot on. I was going to do this at the end of each month, but got lazy and forgot. Nice work and again spot on.

 

[unlvmariners]

Nice post.

By far my least favorite trade was the Trumbo trade. Not because I don't like Clevenger because I do for what he is. But Dipoto overpaid massively for a backup once a week catcher.

There were a handful of occasions where Dipoto just flat out under/over valued players. However I somewhat understand why, I think Dipoto was willing to overspend or receive a lesser value in order to put the team he wants on the field.

 

[Anointed One]

Very nice, indeed... It's awesome having a part time player come off the bench to be as productive as Dae Ho has been... Rich Amaral was the last guy to come to mind that was a very productive guy off the bench..

 

[blstoker]

Very nice, indeed... It's awesome having a part time player come off the bench to be as productive as Dae Ho has been... Rich Amaral was the last guy to come to mind that was a very productive guy off the bench..

I'd say Willie, but that's just me.

 

[cezero]

Nice analysis.

I didn't want to start a thread about it, but the only team the M's play for the rest of the month with above a .500 record is the Orioles.

 

[Msfann]

I'd say Willie, but that's just me.

Stan Javier in 01 was pretty good, I always wished he had stayed on for longer.

 

[Destroydacre]

Stan Javier in 01 was pretty good, I always wished he had stayed on for longer.

He came to mind for me as well.

 

[wazzu31]

The only, as of now, move that hasn't worked was the Trumbo/ Lind swap. Can't really fault Jerry for betting on Lind over Trumbo.

A. They needed a backup catcher.
B. If you are gambling on a bounce back year you generally would take a lefty 1B in a lefty friendly park over Trumbo.
C. We'll see if the Miley deal shakes out later in the year, if the pen and Miley slowed I think there could be a debate on it but right it's working and Powell can still come up if Smith or Guti gets hurt.

 

[JMR]

I think Lind will turn it around. He's not going to be Nelson Cruz from last year or anything, but if Servais sticks it out with him I think he'll eventually hit up to his baseball card.

Overall these pieces just seem to fit better than last year, for whatever reason. Through 30-ish games, we are getting the hits we didn't get before and just seeing things bounce our way more often than not. And that's with Aoki, Cruz, Martin and of course Lind not really hitting expectations on offense.

 

[EVille3]

I think the biggest difference this year is the CTZ philosophy actually being put on display game in and game out. Even on the nights the offense shits the bed the team is running up starters' pitch counts and having quality/extended ABs. I think watching them work counts this year is the part of this team that excites me the most.

 

[PolarVortex]

Nice post.

By far my least favorite trade was the Trumbo trade. Not because I don't like Clevenger because I do for what he is. But Dipoto overpaid massively for a backup once a week catcher.

There were a handful of occasions where Dipoto just flat out under/over valued players. However I somewhat understand why, I think Dipoto was willing to overspend or receive a lesser value in order to put the team he wants on the field.

Dipoto wasn't trying to get back equal value for Trumbo, he was just trying to get rid of him. Clevenger, Lind and Trumbo were all considered no tender candidates if you believe the rumblings in MLBTR. All three would have been dumped by their respective teams if the teams hadn't found trade partners.

Baltimore clearly won. They gave of a career backup catcher for a starting first baseman who currently has an OPS over .900.

Milwaukee came in second. They got rid of a guy (and his $8 million salary) they didn't want and got back a 20-year-old kid (Freddie Peralta)who, while still in the lower minors, looks pretty damn good so far.

The Mariners came in last. They are paying the same amount of money to Lind that would have had to pay Trumbo. They got a first baseman who currently has a .500 OPS while losing a first basemen who currently has a .900 OPS. And they also gave up Freddie Peralta, who, as I said, looks pretty good in the lower minors this year.

 

[PolarVortex]

I think Lind will turn it around. He's not going to be Nelson Cruz from last year or anything, but if Servais sticks it out with him I think he'll eventually hit up to his baseball card.

Overall these pieces just seem to fit better than last year, for whatever reason. Through 30-ish games, we are getting the hits we didn't get before and just seeing things bounce our way more often than not. And that's with Aoki, Cruz, Martin and of course Lind not really hitting expectations on offense.

I wouldn't say Cruz is under-achieving this year as much as he was over-achieving last year. His current pace is 29 homeruns and 91 RBI. At his age and salary, I'll take that all day long.

 

[unlvmariners]

Dipoto wasn't trying to get back equal value for Trumbo, he was just trying to get rid of him. Clevenger, Lind and Trumbo were all considered no tender candidates if you believe the rumblings in MLBTR. All three would have been dumped by their respective teams if the teams hadn't found trade partners.

Baltimore clearly won. They gave of a career backup catcher for a starting first baseman who currently has an OPS over .900.

Milwaukee came in second. They got rid of a guy (and his $8 million salary) they didn't want and got back a 20-year-old kid (Freddie Peralta)who, while still in the lower minors, looks pretty damn good so far.

The Mariners came in last. They are paying the same amount of money to Lind that would have had to pay Trumbo. They got a first baseman who currently has a .500 OPS while losing a first basemen who currently has a .900 OPS. And they also gave up Freddie Peralta, who, as I said, looks pretty good in the lower minors this year.

This is a big reason I disliked the trade even more. Just because Dipoto didn't have a high value on Trumbo doesn't mean some other team doesn't. What bothered me the most was Dipoto devaluing players. To me that is a very dangerous way to approach trades. When you are trading starters plus a guy you just traded for to get a back up doesn't make much sense to me despite if they are going to get tendered contracts or not. Dipoto obviously had a plan in mind for how he wanted the team to look and for the future. I like the Clevenger pick up I just don't like the route Dipoto took to get him.

 

[unlvmariners]

I wouldn't say Cruz is under-achieving this year as much as he was over-achieving last year. His current pace is 29 homeruns and 91 RBI. At his age and salary, I'll take that all day long.

Very cool with that. That is along the lines of what I expected him to do last season.

 

[JMR]

I wouldn't say Cruz is under-achieving this year as much as he was over-achieving last year. His current pace is 29 homeruns and 91 RBI. At his age and salary, I'll take that all day long.

Fair enough....Cruz didn't hit 40+ HRs until 2 years ago, then topped out at 44 last year, but I expected him to be sitting with more HRs than 5 or 6 (maybe he just hit 6 last game) after 34 games. But like you say, 29 bombs would be adequate.

 

[SeattleCoug]

• Signed: Chris ianetta:
  
  Early results: Stability, leadership, professionalism. Can’t complain.

Good description here because you could look at his batting average and be unimpressed.

What I can expect from him each night is to put up quality ABs every night and be solid behind the plate.
Seems like he works really well with Walker too. .333 OBP and 100 WRC+ definitely a huge upgrade from last year.

 

[Podunkparte]

A lot of us, myself included, weren't thrilled with the Carson Smith/Elias for Miley/Aro trade when it went down.

Well Carson Smith is having Tommy John surgery and Miley has been pretty great for us. This trade has to be a lopsided win at this point.

 

[NWinAZ]

A lot of us, myself included, weren't thrilled with the Carson Smith/Elias for Miley/Aro trade when it went down.

Well Carson Smith is having Tommy John surgery and Miley has been pretty great for us. This trade has to be a lopsided win at this point.

True, but you can't rely on a season ending injury to rate a trade in my book. He could have pitch all season if still on M's. You just never know...but I get your point.

 

[wazzu31]

I think the biggest difference this year is the CTZ philosophy actually being put on display game in and game out. Even on the nights the offense shits the bed the team is running up starters' pitch counts and having quality/extended ABs. I think watching them work counts this year is the part of this team that excites me the most.

That is the huge positive and breathe of fresh air is that there (it seems) to be a direction this team is going regardless of good times or bad. You never knew the direction Jack was taking, and he definitely didn't stay the course from the philosophy he preached when first hired.