Mariners takeaways: Seattle extends Dipoto and Servais, Lewis suffers “setback” in rehab

There’s a mantra in the Seattle clubhouse — admittedly, a redundant one, says Scott Servais — but it’s simple. It’s the answer to everything, he said.

“Doesn’t matter, get better,” Servais repeated for the umpteenth time this season. “My contract really didn’t matter. I just focused on getting better. Not just myself, the coaching staff, but our players.

“I got a contract extension today. Doesn’t matter, I’ve got to get better. If I didn’t have it, it really doesn’t matter. Gotta get better.”

On Wednesday, Servais and General Manager Jerry Dipoto inked their second multi-year contract extensions with the Mariners. It’s a deal finalized in the last month of a season that has exceeded expectations for a young core and rising farm system.

In the moments that Scott Servais put pen to paper on Wednesday, he told Mariners Chairman John Stanton one simple message: he wants to win.

And even if Dipoto said there was never a doubt, he and Servais will get their wish: to see their now-three-year-old plan through to the end.

“Jerry’s a baseball expert,” Stanton said. “I rely on Jerry to make baseball decisions, and he has our confidence and has had the resources and will continue to have the resources necessary to execute and achieve our goal.”

Dipoto and Servais met with Stanton after a mostly-successful, 89-win 2018 season. With the oldest team in the league and a limited payroll going forward, Dipoto laid out a new plan: not the so-called “rebuild” many teams enact, but instead a “step back.”

By trading away their highly-paid veterans, the Mariners received two things: a group of high-potential, near-MLB ready prospects, and payroll flexibility. Over the following two seasons, they’d let a top-ranked farm system develop, and when they discovered where the team could spend in free agency to “fill in the gaps” of a budding roster, they would.

“When we laid it out, we had to stay disciplined to what we were doing, regardless of the outcome,” Dipoto said. “That’s what we owed the organization, and that’s what we owed the players.”

The pandemic-shortened 2020 season threw a wrench into their timeline, but Dipoto told 710 ESPN Seattle that the front office plans to “be aggressive” this offseason. They refrained from giving out lengthy, lucrative deals after last season’s 60-game campaign, and used this year to gauge where their plan stood.

Even as Seattle’s 2019 team took off to a franchise-best 13-2 record, they plummeted to a last-place 68-94 finish. They missed the playoffs by just two games in 2020, albeit finishing 27-33.

But the Mariners have reached a milestone in 2021 they typically fall short of: playing meaningful baseball in September.

“We… knew there (were) going to be some challenging times, but hoping we could get to the point where we’re at today, where we have put a really nice core group of young players together,” Servais said. “We’ve put together a really fun season to this date and it’s still not over... we’re really excited about what lies ahead in the future.”

With his extension, Dipoto received a new job title as Seattle’s President of Baseball Operations. It’s a promotion that admittedly changes little for Dipoto’s day-to-day regimen, but it provides “direct access to (Stanton), in a way that I maybe didn’t have in the years prior,” he said.

And Servais, with his extension, remains as the leader of a team he’s now managed since 2016, handpicked for the job by Dipoto himself.

“From my position, the thing that you desire most (in a manager) is just to be able to take the car keys and throw them to the driver, and get out of the way,” Dipoto said. “And that’s the trust I have in Scott.

“The important thing you’ll do is find the right driver, and trust them to drive. And I do.”

KNEE SORENESS PUSHES BACK A POTENTIAL LEWIS RETURN

There’s been a setback.

The Mariners planned to send Kyle Lewis on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma last weekend, but the reigning AL Rookie of the Year experienced knee soreness after taking part in running and sliding drills.

It’s unclear when Lewis will return.

“He’s not feeling great,” Servais said. “He was sore, and not just body-sore. … I think he was very optimistic here about six, seven days ago, but kind of with the turn of events… we just have to wait and see.”

Lewis tore his right meniscus after extending to make a running catch in center field in a win over Oakland May 25. He underwent surgery June 9.

Servais still hopes to add Lewis back into his lineup near the end of the season. The front office and trainers have decided against shutting Lewis down for the remainder of the year even as time runs short, but they won’t send him on a rehab assignment until he’s “100 percent.”

If Lewis returns, he’d likely start as a designated hitter, and work his way back into the outfield.

“I’m sure he’s frustrated by it, wanting to... try to get back on the field,” Servais said. But… only if he’s at 100 percent. And I think that is super important. Just don’t go out there, you know, if you’re 60 to 70 percent. It’s just not good for him.”

SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS: SHEFFIELD RETURNS

Justus Sheffield has returned to the Mariners — and in a new role.

When Major League Baseball expanded their rosters to 28 — each team added two players to their active roster — Seattle recalled Sheffield, and infielder Kevin Padlo.

Since Seattle has a solidified five-man rotation in Seattle, Sheffield returned Wednesday as a reliever, bolstering Seattle’s already-distinguished bullpen.

He made two relief appearances with the Rainiers in August as a final-stages tune-up before his return, and figured he’d keep a familiar “starter” mentality out of the bullpen. But the left-hander struggled in his first go-around, surrendering three runs, two of them earned, to Salt Lake.

Three days later, he got a second chance.

“My next time, I was just like, ‘man, forget it.’ I’m about to come out (and) just be a dog out there,” Sheffield said. “Let it fly. I’m only out there for one inning… so just let everything eat, you know, rip the slider, throw the heaters in.”

Sheffield’s second appearance as a Rainiers reliever was a clean, face-the-minimum inning against the same Salt Lake team.

Back with the big league team, Sheffield induced an important double play against Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez in a 1-0 win. He took the mound again Friday night, forcing extras after silencing Arizona hitters in the ninth inning.

“He went after it, he trusted his pitches,” Servais said after Sheffield’s return to the Mariners. “I liked what I saw. I liked his demeanor as much as his stuff. I thought he went right after them, and that’s what you have to do in the bullpen.”

In Sheffield’s mind, he’s still a starting pitcher, and he’d be the first to tell you that. But his main objective — for this season, at least — is to help the team win, and he’s embraced his new role, Servais said.

“I really appreciate that attitude,” Servais said. “Not all guys are wired that way.”

ROSTER MOVES

It took 72 games, a .360 batting average, and 23 home runs with Triple-A Tacoma, but Jose Marmolejos has returned to the Mariners lineup.

Last Monday, Seattle selected Marmolejos’ contract, and designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment. He cleared waivers, and rejoined the Rainiers Wednesday.

It didn’t take long to pick up where he left off in Tacoma, because in his first at-bat for the Mariners since May 19, Marmolejos lasered a two-run homer into the right field seats last Monday.

“It honestly felt amazing,” Marmolejos said after the game. “To start off like that, it’s just a major blessing.”

During his stint in Triple-A Tacoma, Marmolejos told The News Tribune last month that he worked on seeing the ball better at the plate. Servais wanted him to lift the ball more into the air.

“It’s not like I’m trying to get the ball in the air,” Marmolejos said. “It’s more of the work ethic, trying to see the point of contact, and it’s coming freely.

“I laid back, and thought to myself that I’ve got to trust what I’ve been working on, and stick to that every single day.”

Before Saturday’s game, the Mariners recalled relievers Diego Castillo (right shoulder inflammation) and Anthony Misiewicz (left forearm strain) from the ten-day injured list. Reliever Wyatt Mills, along with infielder Kevin Padlo, were sent back to Tacoma.

UP NEXT

On Sunday afternoon, Boston lost. New York lost. Oakland lost. Houston lost.

Even the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays lost.

But the Mariners, picking up a game on virtually everyone in the postseason hunt, won another extra-inning game in Arizona, finishing off a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks.

“When you play in meaningful games where the only thing that matters is winning that day’s game, you really grow as a player,” Servais said.

“It’s invaluable.”

Boston currently holds the final postseason spot, but the Mariners (75-62) are only three back. With Sunday’s win, the Mariners chugged past Oakland in the standings, and the Red Sox remain as the final hurdle.

The Mariners start a three-game set with Houston Monday, and return home Thursday.

Starting Friday, the Mariners play three more against the Diamondbacks, in Seattle this time, and Boston comes next.

Yusei Kikuchi takes the mound Monday for the Mariners at Minute Maid Park in Houston.