I’m no fan of the Seattle Mariners, but I was impressed with the body of work produced by Jerry Dipoto in his first season as general manager of the M’s. Fresh off some apparently frustrating years with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Dipoto arrived in Seattle and wasted no time in trying to improve a team that last made the playoffs in 2001.
And Dipoto already had plenty of talent to work with, such as Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager, Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, yet he still worked hard, or so it appeared, to find those missing pieces of the puzzle.
Take note, Derek Falvey.
According to seattlepi.com, here are the deals that Dipoto pulled off before the non-waiver trade deadline:
-Shortstop Brad Miller, reliever Danny Farquhar and first baseman Logan Morrison to Tampa Bay for center fielder Boog Powell, right-hander Nate Karns and southpaw C.J. Riefenhauser.
-Center fielder James Jones, reliever Tom Wilhelmsen and minor leaguer Patrick Kivlehan to Texas for center fielder Leonys Martin and reliever Anthony Bass.
-Outfielder Mark Trumbo, reliever C.J. Riefenhauser to Baltimore for catcher Steve Clevenger.
-Reliever Carson Smith and southpaw Roenis Elias to Boston for left-handed starter Wade Miley and right-handed reliever Jonathan Aro.
-Left-hander Mike Montgomery and minor league pitcher Jordan Pries to the Chicago Cubs for first baseman Dan Vogelbach and minor leaguer Paul Blackburn.
-Reliever Joaquin Benoit to Toronto for reliever Drew Storen and cash.
-Left-hander Wade Miley to Baltimore for left-hander Ariel Miranda.
-Minor leaguers Jake Brentz and Pedro Vazquez to Pittsburgh for Arquimedes Caminero.
Not all of these deals panned out for the M’s, but I appreciate the effort. The Mariners won 10 games more than they did in 2015 and were in the hunt for most of this past season.
As a Twins fan, this is what I want from new Chief Baseball Officer Falvey, who previously was the assistant general manager of the Cleveland Indians. Falvey can either orchestrate some of these deals on his own, or perhaps hire a new GM to carry out the creation of the new-look Twins. Falvey, though, reportedly won’t begin work until the Indians have completed their playoff run. That bothers me, but perhaps in between hanging out with his former club, Falvey is getting a feel for the Twins by talking to players, reading up on the history of the franchise, or is poring over spreadsheets and scrolling through his list of contacts.
If not, then think long and hard about the kind of front-office executive you want to be, Derek. Dipoto’s not a bad place to start.