Grading Jerry Dipoto and the Seattle Mariners front office at the season’s midway point
By Bill Felber
Free agency
Unlike a lot of his fellow team execs, Dipoto does not usually prefer straight owner-to-player negotiations. He’s only added seven players this season via free agency, extension or re-signing.
The most obvious and notable of those seven moves was internal; the locking up of second-year All-Star center fielder Julio Rodriguez.
Dipoto and Rodriguez came to terms on a $210 million contract that will keep Rodriguez occupied in Seattle through at least 2034 (there are player options, but they don’t kick in until 2030).
With Rodriguez doing his usual exceptional job in center field — he’s carrying a +1.1 WAA through the season’s first half — that’s a win for Dipoto.
The problem is that Rodriguez is literally the only win. Dipoto swung six other free agent deals, and all six of them have thus far worked out badly for the Mariners.
From both a name and a results standpoint, the worst was the signing of A.J. Pollock for $7 million. At 35, Pollock is giving every indication that he has nothing left; he’s hitting .155 with a disastrous .506 OPS and only saw the field a dozen times since June 1. He’s carrying a -1.0 WAA and the only question is whether there’s any market left for him.