Usually, a trip to the hospital means that a person is not working that day. Someone forgot to tell that to Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto.
If there is a trade to be made, Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto will sniff it out. Since taking his role on September 28, 2015, Dipoto has been involved with nearly half the trades in the game. He traded Mallex Smith 77 minutes after acquiring him, only to trade for Smith again two years later. Dipoto has remade the Mariners roster, only to remake the Mariners roster. With Trader Jerry in the league, there is never a dull moment, as a deal could happen at literally any time.
Any time literally means any time with Dipoto. In fact, even being hospitalized could not stop him from making a deal, as Dipoto finalized a three team trade with the Indians and Rays from his hospital bed.
Yes. Jerry Dipoto finalized the trade for Encarnacion from his hospital bed with assistant GM Justin Hollander standing there. Hollander has a picture of it.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) December 13, 2018
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Working out a three team deal on its own must be difficult, but to do so from a hospital bed? The Mariners did quite well in the swap, as they added Edwin Encarnacion, and the 77th pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. The Indians added Carlos Santana, Jake Bauers, and $6 million from Seattle to offset Santana’s salary. The Rays added Yandy Diaz and minor league reliever Cole Sulser, while sending $5 million to Seattle.
Of course, the deals are not likely to be over for Seattle. Encarnacion may not want to contact a local real estate agent, as he is rumored to be on the block once again. In fact, he could even be sent to the Rays in a separate deal, even though there is no indication that such a trade is imminent.
Nonetheless, the fact that Dipoto was able to work through blood clots and make this trade happen is impressive. This also explains why he had been silent since sending Jean Segura to the Phillies, as he had other issues to be concerned about. But a chance to make a three way trade happen? That is a special situation.
Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto made a three team trade from his hospital bed. Because of course he did.