Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto failed in his attempt to sign Shohei Ohtani and now enters the five stages of grief.
These are dark days in Seattle and not just because it’s that part of the year when the skies will be overcast 90 percent of the time from now until April. No, the dark days are because the Seattle Mariners lost out on their aggressive bidding for Shohei Ohtani. To make matters worse, Ohtani signed with their division rival, the Los Angeles Angels.
Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto made a valiant effort. He courted Shohei Ohtani like he was Lloyd Dobbler and Ohtani was Diane Cort in the movie Say Anything. He arranged for a group of Mariners to meet Ohtani that reportedly included current and former players.
He said the team would willingly move Nelson Cruz to right field on the days Ohtani was the DH, despite the hit the team would take defensively.
When it came down to the wire, Dipoto really accelerated his efforts. He made two last-minute trades to add international signing bonus money in an attempt to sweeten the deal.
He did everything except standing outside Ohtani’s window with a boombox over his head playing “In Your Eyes.”
In the end, Ohtani chose the Angels, which is a gigantic kick in the jimmies for the Mariners. That’s not to blame Ohtani, of course.