‘He became a central figure to us.’ How the Mariners decided to build around Marco Gonzales
It didn’t take long for the Seattle Mariners to realize what they had in Marco Gonzales the pitcher.
A brief look during the second half of the 2017 season, when the young lefty arrived from St. Louis in exchange for outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill, was encouraging. Gonzales’ first full season in the majors the following year showed measurable growth.
And, during a 2019 season that was as discouraging as any for the Mariners on the field, Gonzales was a bright spot, opening the year as Seattle’s No. 1 starter, and finishing it as one of the top pitchers in the American League.
“Marco’s been as consistent a pitcher every fifth day as we could have hoped for — really from the moment he stepped out full time as a big leaguer at the start of 2018,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “These last two years, you can’t ask for more than he’s done on the mound.
“But, along the way, you found out a lot about who he is as a person.”
When the Mariners discovered over time just what they had in Gonzales the person — a competitor with high character that relishes the leadership role — the path forward was clear.
“We found him to be a foundational piece in what we were trying to build,” Dipoto said.
Gonzales, 27, and the Mariners finalized a $30 million, multi-year contract extension earlier this week that keeps the Gonzaga product in Seattle through at least 2024 and includes a club option for an additional year.
At a press conference Tuesday at T-Mobile Park, Dipoto and Gonzales addressed the central role Gonzales will play as the club continues its rebuild.
“We’re really trying to build a championship team, and to have the chance to be at the forefront of that, it’s a huge opportunity for me,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales’ ascension to a key leadership role in the clubhouse became prominent when he was named Seattle’s Opening Day starter in 2019 — becoming the club’s first pitcher not named Felix Hernandez to start on Opening Day in a decade.
He embraced that challenge — and notched consecutive wins in the Mariners’ opener in Japan and home opener the following week — and others that followed in a shaky season for the club, on his way to posting career-bests in wins (16), starts (34), innings (203) and strikeouts (147).
The consistency he displayed on the field paired with how he developed as a team leader when the Mariners unloaded many of their experienced players only amplified the club’s commitment to him.
“I thought last year when we started sliding — in the second half of the season especially, once the veteran players were gone, and there was no more Jay Bruce or Edwin Encarnacion or Mike Leake, and we were getting younger and the losses were starting to pile up — that’s really when Marco started to rise,” Dipoto said.
When the roster started shifting, and trending younger, Gonzales said he talked with other players the Mariners were moving forward with about building a winning mentality in the clubhouse.
“We understood what kind of culture we wanted,” Gonzales said. “I think it really starts there with a winning team. You saw it with the Nationals this year — how much fun they had, and how they kind of came out of nowhere.
“That’s truthfully what I envision for us in the future. It’s going to take some work, but I think we can eventually get there.”
He knows he plays an important in fostering a winning culture as one of the Mariners’ more experienced players who young up-and-comers can look to for guidance.
Dipoto has already seen the positive impact Gonzales can have on younger players — particularly the pitchers Seattle one day projects as regulars in its rotation. He saw it when Justus Sheffield arrived last August, when Justin Dunn debuted in September, and when Logan Gilbert spent the final week of the season in Seattle observing.
“Seeing the impact of that on those guys, and what we think of those players, their character and personalities — Marco is the perfect leader of that group,” Dipoto said. “You don’t run across too many guys in baseball that have that skill set and want to employ it, and Marco has both of those — the skill and the want to.”
The example Gonzales was able to be for those younger players made him invaluable to the future of this club.
“When we saw how high an impact he could have with those young players, based on what we’re doing right now, we thought that was imperative,” Dipoto said. “So he became a central figure to us.
“We can talk about the guys who have leadership qualities, but it’s a different thing entirely when you’re able to say, ‘OK, he’s doing it.’ ”
Though Gonzales is still a younger pitcher entering his third full season as a big leaguer, he wants to pay forward what other pitchers taught him when he first came to the majors.
“The best thing I can say about those guys is their willingness to learn,” Gonzales said of younger teammates Sheffield and Dunn. “They’re not coming up thinking they have everything figured out. They’re asking questions, they’re trying to be great. … They’re sponges. I love it. I love how much information they want.”
And Dipoto believes Gonzales, with his desire to pitch in Seattle, his quality character, and his urgency to win, is the perfect fit to teach as the Mariners move ahead.
“It’s about the people,” Dipoto said. “Do they want to be here? Are they high-character, integrity guys who will lead? If that’s where you’re building your core, you’re going to be successful.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
