Q&A: Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto on Cal Raleigh, MLB trade deadline and draft
SEATTLE – What a week for the Mariners.
On Sunday, the Mariners wrapped up a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers on the road, scoring 35 runs in the series to enter the All-Star break holding the third and final AL wild-card position.
That same day, the Mariners used the No. 3 pick in the MLB draft to select LSU left-hander Kade Anderson, the College World Series MVP and the highest-ranked player on Seattle’s draft board.
On Monday, Cal Raleigh continued his big season by winning the MLB Home Run Derby, joining Ken Griffey Jr. as the only M’s to do so.
On Tuesday, Raleigh made his first appearance in the All-Star Game, joined by Mariners teammates Bryan Woo, Randy Arozarena and Andrés Muñoz.
And Friday, the Mariners opened the second half by hosting a pivotal three-game series against the rival Houston Astros (56-40), who hold a five-game lead over the M’s atop the AL West.
To recap it all, the Seattle Times caught up with Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto, who answered questions on a range of topics that included Raleigh, the starting rotation, the July 31 trade deadline and more.
(Note: This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.)
Seattle Times: What has it been like to experience Raleigh’s season from your seat?
Dipoto: It’s unbelievable. He has been remarkable and consistent. I have to give a ton of credit not just to Cal but to (manager) Dan Wilson and his staff for the way they’ve managed his workload in the first half. If they weren’t so aggressive with the DH days, I’m not sure that a lot of this is as possible as it’s obviously has become. They put him in a historic position, and Cal took care of the rest. And he checks every box: good teammate, strong character, hard worker, team-first type mentality. He’s like a dream player, and he’s having his dream season, and we’re all along for the ride.
ST: You mentioned Raleigh’s workload – is that something you have to be even more mindful of in the second half?
Dipoto: We’ve had a fair number of those conversations through the course of the season’s first half, and even more so over the course of the last six weeks because he was playing every day. I think Cal would tell you that the DH day he views as his “reset day.” Obviously, we’re a better team when he’s out there. We’ll work with Cal and manage it, but we’ll just let our eyes tell us, and let him tell us. Cal will never tell you (he needs a break), so we have to meet him there and try to be smart about what we do.
ST: What did you make of what you were able to do in the MLB draft this week?
Dipoto: When we opened up the (predraft) meetings, my two cents to the group as we started our deliberations was, “We’ve never picked this high, and we will never pick this high again.” That was the idea, and we wanted to make an impact with the pick. When it fell to us that we got the top player on our board, that is first time that’s ever happened for anyone (for this front office). It’s pretty rare. Kade is super polished. He’s the best college pitcher in the country, coming off of his own storybook season. He is about as grounded as any young player can be, and that says a lot. He’s touched 96-97 (mph) with his fastball and sits 93-94; he’s got both breakers with distinctly different shape; and he’s got a changeup, which is something he really started to refine this past year and we think has potential for big-time impact.
ST: What are your overall feelings about the team at the All-Star break?
Dipoto: There’s so much upside with our team. We did end the first half on such a high note, and we’ve put ourselves in good position in terms of reaching the postseason. We’ve not yet reached our stride. Our ceiling is with our pitching staff, and that’s an area that has a chance to really push us forward when we’ve got five or six guys healthy and doing all the things that they’re capable of. And that’s pretty exciting. We line up very quickly with the Astros, and I think that’s an important series for a lot of people. And certainly there’s some impetus if we want to go out and win the division, and I know the guys are focused on that. I anticipate that they’ll bring it and look forward to seeing how that goes. I’m really excited about our aggregate offense, truly dating back to opening day, but really since the start of June we’ve been the best offensive team in the league, and I’m not sure who would have predicted that. (Note: The Mariners’ 123 wRC+ since June 1 ranks No. 1 in MLB.)
ST: What’s working offensively?
Dipoto: With the obvious exception of the crazy season Cal is having, it’s just been a steady balance up and down the lineup of contributors. J.P. Crawford had an awesome first half; Randy had an awesome first half; “Polo” (Jorge Polanco) had an unbelievable April and then followed it up with a wonderful run the last three weeks. I was so encouraged by the way Julio (Rodríguez) finished the first half with his pitch selection and his intent. He looked electric. It started with some takes – just allowing the at-bat to develop. And now we’re seeing him doing the things that the best version of Julio does: impacting the ball to all fields; taking his walks; the baserunning; and then the defense has been there since Day 1. Getting Luke Raley back was huge for us. The contributions that Dom Canzone has made since he’s come back – that’s what we would have, in our dream world, envisioned Dom looking like as a build-out major-leaguer, and he’s doing it now. We saw a really nice uptick from Mitch Garver as the first half went along. And if you look back at Cole Young’s numbers since the end of his first week, I think you’d be stunned. He’s been awesome. And Ben Williamson – we’ve won games because of the defense he’s playing at third base, and he pitches in with the gritty at-bat that goes unnoticed because it doesn’t turn into gaudy stats. And guys like Miles Mastrobuoni and Donovan Solano – they make us a better team. I think this is the deepest position-player roster we’ve had in my memory. The length of our lineup, over time, it just showed up. And the way we finished up the last six weeks was a really nice reward for how well we have managed ourselves offensively and quietly done the things that good teams do.
ST: Injuries to George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller were the main storyline for your pitching staff early in the season. There have been positive signs from Kirby and Gilbert lately – how close is your rotation to returning to 2024 form?
Dipoto: Since George and Logan, especially, have returned from their time down – and having gone through arm injuries in my life – it’s not that easy just to pick up where you left off and throw it into cruise control. We had to build up pitch count, and we did it in the big leagues, as opposed to (longer) rehab assignments. And I think we’ve seen from George and Logan – it’s all there. The stuff is as good as it’s ever been. And having the All-Star break now to tap into, we’ll get back to the lengthier outings that were the calling card of our starting rotation. In the meantime, Logan Evans has done an awesome job for someone with less than 35 minor-league starts since he left college. He’s developed a lot of confidence. I’m so happy for Bryan Woo that he made the All-Star team and got to pitch in front of the world. I guess he’s no longer the best-kept secret in baseball. We do envision sometime in August getting Bryce back out there, and a healthy Bryce just gives you another gear. And I do think lost in all the shuffle has been just the consistency you get from Luis Castillo. I’m just so glad we have the “Rock” and Woo – they became the real backbone of pitching staff in the first half, because they took the ball, they churned their innings, and they put us in a position to win.
ST: Let’s talk trade deadline. You’ve been able to swing big summer deals in two of the past three years, bringing in Castillo and Arozarena. How optimistic are you about this deadline, and where do things stand in the market right now?
Dipoto: Going into the draft, it was still what I would call a closed market. There weren’t many teams that were yet in position or were willing to move. We have what we consider to be a pretty complete roster. Our goal would be, if we are to make moves, it’s to upgrade meaningfully. We still much prefer the idea, in the trade market, of investing in guys who have an opportunity to be with you moving forward. But we’re also aware that there are any number of players whose contracts run out at the end of the year who fit our team particularly well. Whether they become available or not is another story, but we’re confident, with the support of ownership, with a really robust farm system and with the willingness to go out and make a trade and get uncomfortable. This is the time of year where we’ve generally been as aggressive as anybody. We’re already making our canvas calls, and we’re already following up. We have already, at least in two situations, actually talked about players, which is a little bit earlier in the process than is typically normal for us. But I won’t say that right now we have any sense that we’re going to get anything done. But I’m optimistic that as we get closer to end of the month, we will.
ST: A few weeks ago it looked like the corner infield spots and right field would be positions to upgrade. You do have some players with positional flexibility – how does that affect your plans approaching the trade deadline?
Dipoto: The way we’ve played offensively over the last six weeks certainly makes it a tougher to target a hitter. I don’t know if you can play any better than Dom Canzone has as platoon right fielder the last month and a half. Getting Luke back – Luke has shown to be perfectly fine at first base. He’s worked really hard on his defense, and he gives you the potential for an impact bat. So we’re open. We’d like to get better, and we’re open to being creative in how getting “better” fits our roster. And we’re also going to be mindful of keeping a good thing in this clubhouse going, because I think – and I know Dan has referenced it often – it’s such a good group of players. They love playing with each other. We have a good present. We have a good future. And I think we’re as talented as just about anybody we’re going to play. It’s just a matter of getting all four of the major elements of our team together at the same time – bullpen, rotation, defense, lineup – and right now is about as close to that as we’ve been.