After showing growth in shortened season, Mariners in ‘really nice position’ for 2021, Dipoto says
When the Mariners entered the 2020 season — both before and after it was shortened to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic — they had a clear measure for what they would consider a successful year.
In giving their young players opportunity at the big league level, did they improve over time?
“I think the answer to that question is, yes they did,” Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said Monday during a postseason video call with reporters. “So, by that measure, I think 2020 was a success.”
The first half was slow. With many of Seattle’s players debuting or playing significantly in the majors for the first time, the club opened 7-18 in the first four weeks. But, as the end of August neared, it took a turn. Following the seven-game losing streak that gave them that record, the Mariners won 12 of their next 16, and found themselves, somewhat surprisingly, in the playoff mix until the final week of September.
Considering most of the core that led the Mariners to an impressive second half and a third-place finish in the American League West — they ended two games back of the Astros in second — is expected to return in 2021, the future certainly looks brighter.
Mariners ace Marco Gonzales didn’t lose a decision the final six weeks of the season, and finished with seven wins and a career-low 3.10 ERA. Kyle Seager, J.P. Crawford and rookie Evan White helped make up one of the most consistent infields in baseball. Rookie center fielder Kyle Lewis is a front runner for American League Rookie of the Year. Rookie starter Justus Sheffield and Dylan Moore had breakout seasons and the arrivals of Ty France and Luis Torrens from the Padres boosted the daily lineup. There are plenty more to mention that should factor into the Mariners’ plans in the coming years.
“It’s exciting to think about moving forward with this group, knowing that the group in that clubhouse is largely going to be the group that comes back and forms our foundation next year,” Dipoto said. “And we feel like we didn’t take a step backward in a year that could have easily been disrupted, and we were able to do positive things with the right players getting the right opportunity. … So many highlights for individual players and what they were able to do.
“And, by measure of wins and losses, I think we exceeded the expectations of some, but by measure of how competitive we were, I think we exceeded the expectation of all, and that’s a credit to our players and our staff, and I think a job really well done.”
While moving ahead with this group, the Mariners will also likely debut players in their next wave of prospects — like top prospect Jarred Kelenic and top pitching prospect Logan Gilbert — in 2021, though they didn’t get a minor league season in 2020.
Dipoto, who made a trio of moves at this year’s trade deadline, and is known to be active in the offseason, also won’t be shy about adding from outside if the right opportunity presents itself.
The bullpen remains a primary focus. Though the Mariners found some young talent in rookies Anthony Misiewicz, Joey Gerber and Yohan Ramirez that they can move forward with, and has the bullpen also posted the seventh-worst collective ERA (5.03) in the majors.
“For me again the focus this year, going into the offseason is, we’re looking at that bullpen, and I’d like to add three or four guys down there that can stabilize that group and give us some certainty as we move toward the end of the game,” Dipoto said.
“ … There’ll be guys in the league that have had experiences that we feel like can help us moving forward, and I don’t know that they’re going to be marquee names, that’s really not generally how bullpens work, but that’s where we’re most focused in trying to help the ‘21 team improve. … We’ve created flexibility on our roster and within our payroll, and if we have the opportunity to make a difference and it makes sense for us, then we’ll look at.”
But, given the experience gained throughout the club this season — even 102 games shorter than expected — Dipoto is encouraged by the progress made.
“I think we’re in a really nice position for ’21, and our goal would be to go out there and contend for a playoff spot,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s an unrealistic goal.”
ROTATION PLANS
Considering the success the Mariners had implementing a six-man starting rotation this year, the club plans to stick with that plan moving ahead.
“We’re very likely to run out a six-man rotation again, because we think the limited number of innings we were able to throw in 2020, we’re putting our players in a position to be healthier, stronger,” Dipoto said. “And, I think what we learned in 2020 was that the combination of the extra days rest, and the freshness that it provided, we had crisper stuff, more precision in our consistency across the board.”
The Mariners finished with the second-most quality starts (25) in the AL and the fourth-most in the majors with a rotation that included Gonzales, Sheffield, Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Dunn and, at times, Taijuan Walker, Kendall Graveman, Nick Margevicius and Ljay Newsome.
In addition to starters like Gonzales, Kikuchi and Sheffield, who will all surely resume their roles next season, and others, the Mariners will soon start to see their next wave of pitching prospects, including the likely debut of Gilbert early on in 2021.
“You will see the next wave of guys start to come, and like our bullpen if we see an opportunity in the free agent market or the trade market to add to that starting pitcher group, we will,” Dipoto said. “But, we do think that the wave behind that, with George Kirby and Emerson Hancock and Brandon Williamson, and that next group of young starting pitchers, is really exciting as well. … We intended to build something that has lasting sustainability, and I think that’s that’s getting closer and closer every day.”
MINOR DETAILS
The Mariners wrapped up training at their alternate site in Tacoma, which allowed young prospects like Kelenic, Gilbert, Cal Raleigh, recent acquisition Taylor Trammell and others to continue to develop playing in intrasquad games despite the absence of a traditional minor league season, earlier this month.
While Dipoto said it’s tough to know at this point how much the loss of the minor league season in 2020 will impact the timeline moving forward, more young prospects will head to Arizona this fall to continue to try to regain some of that time lost.
“We are going to have our youngest group of guys go down to Arizona and play a 20-game schedule through a six-week camp that combines instructional league with high performance,” Dipoto said. “So, what we have done over the course of the last five years with our high performance camp will now be combined with an instructional league schedule, and a lot of on-field work to try to gain some hold on the developmental reps required in minor leagues.”
Dipoto said the Mariners also held a second alternate camp this summer for some of their younger pitchers, like Sam Carlson and 2020 draft pick Connor Phillips, in North Carolina.
“They threw fairly regularly over the course of the summer up until just a week ago, and all of those players are also now going to be reporting to Arizona,” Dipoto said.
HANIGER’S RECOVERY PROGRESSING
Reiterating what manager Scott Servais discussed earlier this month, Dipoto said Mitch Haniger’s recovery has “really picked up steam” the past 30-40 days.
“I know he is feeling as good as he’s felt through the course of this process,” he said.
The 29-year-old outfielder has missed 156 games since June 2019 when he was initially injured after fouling a pitch off himself. He has had multiple surgeries since, and hadn’t resumed baseball activity late in the season, but the hope is the Mariners will have their 2018 All-Star right fielder back fully healthy next spring.
“Right now my 100% belief is that Mitch Haniger will be our right fielder on Opening Day,” Dipoto said. “And we’ll build a team intended for that to be the case, and then we’ll adjust if that’s not.”
RODRIGUEZ ‘READY TO GO’
Mariners top prospect Julio Rodriguez did not get any at-bats in intrasquad games at the club’s alternate site in Tacoma this summer after fracturing his left wrist during summer camp in July, but Dipoto is optimistic about the progress the 19-year-old outfielder will be able to make this offseason.
“Julio, believe it or not, is the player I’m most confident will get the most out of this offseason,” he said. “He’s ready to go. He worked as hard as you can work.”
Rodriguez was able to rehab his wrist while the younger group worked out at Cheney Stadium, has been cleared for baseball activities, and has been hitting.
He will report with a group of 40 of Seattle’s young players to Peoria this fall, Dipoto said, and play regularly in the 20 games set up there. Right now, the plan is for him to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic following the instructional camp in Peoria.
