The Seattle Mariners ended their 21-year post-season drought thanks at least in part to some good work by the team’s front office and general manager Jerry DiPoto.
DiPoto’s tenure running the Mariners has been rocky and generally unproductive. But 2022 represented his best work yet, producing only the second positive impact on team fortunes since he took charge prior to the 2016 season.
The division champion Astros coasted on existing talent, but that base was good enough to bring Houston a fifth division title in six seasons. Elsewhere, front office moves were largely inconsequential, particularly in Anaheim and Oakland, which presented two of the four worst front office resumes of the season.
The analysis that follows is an assessment of the impact each AL West front office’s personnel decisions since November of 2021 have had on their team’s standing right now. It is based on the aggregate Wins Above Average of moves made in five areas:
- Players acquired by trade, purchase or waiver claim.
- Players signed as free agents or extended for more than one year.
- Minor league callups.
- Players lost via trade, waiver claim or sale.
- Players lost to free agency or released.
Wins Above Average is the preferred metric for this calculation because it is zero-based, meaning that it approximately reflects the number of games by which a front office either helped or hurt its team in the standings.
There was one change of significance to front office leadership in the division this season. But it occurred too late in the year to impact 2022 results. In Texas, long-time chief executive Jon Daniels was removed in August, leaving general manager Chris Young in full control.
Here is the AL West front office lineup as it impacted 2022.
Houston: James Click, general manager.
Los Angeles Angels: Perry Minasian, general manager.
Oakland: Billy Beane, executive vice president of baseball operations; David Forst, general manager.
Seattle: Jerry DiPoto, president of baseball operations.
Texas: Jon Daniels (president of baseball operations; Chris Young, executive vice president and general manager.
From best to worst, here’s an assessment of the work of the five AL West front office systems.