Dipoto is on fire!

[PolarVortex]

Dipoto has charged into the hot stove season with guns blazing. He is doing exactly what he said he wanted to do during his introduction press conference. He’s dumping poor fielding guys and acquiring athletic guys with good gloves.

Outgoing: Tom Wilhelmsen, Brad Miller, Logan Morrison, James Jones, Danny Farquar

Incoming: Joaquin Benoit, Boog Powell, Nate Karns, CJ Riefenhauser, Leonys Martin, Anthony Bass

Re-signed: Franklin Gutierrez

Rumored possible acquisitions: Chris Ianetta

Rumored to being shopped: James Paxton

Analyzing the impacts –

The Bullpen: Dipoto has already added three arms and subtracted two arms from last year’s wretched bullpen which was as much responsible for the Mariners under-achieving season as any other factor.

Left Field: Re-signing Gutierrez keeps the LF platoon intact. I believe that Smith and Gutierrez can combine for 25 homeruns and 80 RBI which is about what they did last year.

Center Field: Martin had a down year with the bat last year mainly because he did not hit right handers as well as he typically had in the past. Also, as several media outlets have pointed out, his BABIP was unrealistically low last year meaning at least part of his low BA was attributed to plain ole bad luck. He’ll be in a platoon in 2016, hitting against RH starting pitchers. His platoon partner is undetermined at this time. If it is Gutierrez then that will still leave a platoon spot open for Smith’s partner in LF.

Shortstop: If there was any question of where Marte will play next year (I don’t think there ever was), I think that that has been settled with the acquisition of Martin. If Marte breaks camp with the team (and there is no reason why he shouldn’t), he’ll be the starting SS.

Still to be addressed:
First Base, Right Field, Designated Hitter. Cruz and Trumbo (if he is not traded) will fill two of these spots. Which spots they fill is still up in the air right now. I personally would prefer that neither of them play in the field, which means that Trumbo would have to be traded. Hopefully Dipoto is thinking along the same lines and he’ll find a LFer or first baseman he can trade Trumbo for.

#2 starting pitcher - I expected Iwakuma's deal to have been done by now. I'm not heart broken that it hasn't happened. At a possible $14+ million a year, I would just as soon they move on. But, this is one guy that I think Dipoto has no control over. I think ownership has demanded he be re-signed. If he is not, I'm comfortable with Walker stepping into the #2 spot in the rotation and Karns, Paxton, and Elias occupying the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots. This will be Walker's fourth year that he has been in the majors for all or part of the season. I think he is ready for a more prominent role in the rotation. But, we can't lose both Iwakuma and Paxton. We have to keep at least one of them.

 

[cezero]

Any Iwakuma deal that's 2 years or more can't possibly be $14 million/year. There's no way that could possibly happen.

I just have to tell myself that.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Center Field: Martin had a down year with the bat last year mainly because he did not hit right handers as well as he typically had in the past. Also, as several media outlets have pointed out, his BABIP was unrealistically low last year meaning at least part of his low BA was attributed to plain ole bad luck. He’ll be in a platoon in 2016, hitting against RH starting pitchers. His platoon partner is undetermined at this time. If it is Gutierrez then that will still leave a platoon spot open for Smith’s partner in LF.

Dipoto even mentioned this when talking about the trade. Happy to see we finally have a general manager who knows what BABIP is.

I recall when Cano was in that terrible slump and I mentioned his low BABIP people said I was just making excuses. Then he turned around and hit .330 or something along those lines for the rest of the season.

I personally would've preferred Dexter Fowler to Leonys Martin, but Martin comes at a much cheaper price. Also, one of the things I like about Martin is despite being 27, he has only had two and a half years of MLB experience. He still has room to grow. Martin's speed should fit well in the spacious Safeco, I expect the amount of doubles he hits to increase. I'd prefer a guy with a bit higher OBP, but Martin is as good as it gets defensively, runs well, and his OBP isn't terrible.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Still to be addressed:
First Base, Right Field, Designated Hitter. Cruz and Trumbo (if he is not traded) will fill two of these spots. Which spots they fill is still up in the air right now. I personally would prefer that neither of them play in the field, which means that Trumbo would have to be traded. Hopefully Dipoto is thinking along the same lines and he’ll find a LFer or first baseman he can trade Trumbo for.

#2 starting pitcher - I expected Iwakuma's deal to have been done by now. I'm not heart broken that it hasn't happened. At a possible $14+ million a year, I would just as soon they move on. But, this is one guy that I think Dipoto has no control over. I think ownership has demanded he be re-signed. If he is not, I'm comfortable with Walker stepping into the #2 spot in the rotation and Karns, Paxton, and Elias occupying the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots. This will be Walker's fourth year that he has been in the majors for all or part of the season. I think he is ready for a more prominent role in the rotation. But, we can't lose both Iwakuma and Paxton. We have to keep at least one of them.

The Mariners realistically probably don't have the money for this, but I would kill to land Alex Gordon. He is exactly the type of player that Dipoto covets. High OBP, top-tier defender, and runs well.

Trumbo is not the type of player that fits the mold Dipoto wants, and I'm not a huge fan of his skill set either, but I think we could do a lot worse. He had an abysmal start with the Mariners, which really soured him for a lot of us, but he did really come together as the year went on. He finished the year hitting .263 for the Mariners, and hit .299/.356/.490 with 12 HRs in the final 72 games of the year. That's pretty damn respectable.

With the way Trumbo finished the year, and considering the fact that part of me still sees him as a raw player - I guess that could be said about any player who is a swing for the fences, don't take many walks type - I wouldn't be completely opposed to see him as our starting first basemen. I just don't want to see him in the outfield.

Some candidates to fill the corner outfield spot:
-Alex Gordon: Already mentioned him.
-Dexter Fowler: Also already mentioned, I wouldn't see the harm in having two guys who can play CF in the outfield. Safeco field has a lot of territory to cover, why not have two rangy guys like Fowler and Martin out there? Fowler fits the mold of what Dipoto likes
-Denard Span: Another centerfielder with a good OBP. I wouldn't pay too much for him, his defense at CF rates as average.
-Gerardo Parra: Probably the most realistic option here. Although the fact that he was so shitty with Baltimore makes me concerned regarding if he can hit in the AL - specifically at Safeco - or not.

Hisashi Iwakuma is an interesting topic. His slow start can obviously be attributed to injuries, he should've been pulled sooner. But considering his age, his injuries probably are not going to become any less frequent. If I'm going to be tying up $14m a year in a starting pitcher, I want to ensure that they're going to be healthy. When healthy, I do believe that Iwakuma is by far the most underrated starting pitcher in MLB, and his ERA/WHIP is up there with most of MLB's aces, but his injury problems are a huge red flag for me.

I'd rather sacrifice a bit of production in exchange for someone more reliable than Iwakuma at $14m a year. I doubt he gets that much though. I'd assume a 2 year deal at $10m per year is what he'll land, which I think is appropriate.

Wow, just looked and MLBTR has him projected at 3 years $45m. No way do I touch him with more than a 2 year contract, maybe a 3rd year option, nor do I give him more than $10m per year. There are other starting pitchers who the Mariners can run after who project as healthier. Don't get me wrong, Iwakuma has the possibility to post a sub 3 ERA if he stays healthy, but his health is a serious concern for me. Love to have him back, but I think if you tie up that much money in him, the Mariners will regret it when he's injured.

 

[NWinAZ]

Dexter Fowler: Also already mentioned, I wouldn't see the harm in having two guys who can play CF in the outfield. Safeco field has a lot of territory

Fowler would cost us our 1st round pick and he isn't worth that and I doubt Dipoto will trade that in for Fowler.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Fowler would cost us our 1st round pick and he isn't worth that and I doubt Dipoto will trade that in for Fowler.

Valid observation. I agree.

If only the Mariners would've done their job and sucked enough to get a protected pick.

 

[NWinAZ]

Valid observation. I agree.

If only the Mariners would've done their job and sucked enough to get a protected pick.

Just like when we lost out on Strasburg and got Ackley....ug!

 

[PolarVortex]

Any Iwakuma deal that's 2 years or more can't possibly be $14 million/year. There's no way that could possibly happen.

I just have to tell myself that.

I wish you were right, but consider this: Rich Hill just got a $6 million contract based on four September starts against lineups that featured several minor league call ups who will be back in AAA next April.

 

[NWinAZ]

I wish you were right, but consider this: Rich Hill just got a $6 million contract based on four September starts against lineups that featured several minor league call ups who will be back in AAA next April.

I saw that yesterday and thought it was going to create a big problem in the league.