M’s in search of impact bats, pitching

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 11, 2022

By Tyler Wicke / The News Tribune

SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto is immersed in a game of “catch-up.” So are 29 other big league clubs.

On Thursday evening, players and owners agreed to and ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, which ended baseball’s 99-day lockout and opened the door to free agency, trades, and training camps for those on the 40-man roster.

Seattle inked reigning AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a five-year deal and swung a trade with San Diego for All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier before MLB’s lockout ensued on Dec. 1. But Dipoto isn’t done. Far from it.

By Thursday night, Dipoto had reconnected with agents and clubs to jump-start negotiations now over three months old. In a video call on Friday morning, Seattle’s President of Baseball Operations told reporters that impact bats are a priority, and in a best-case scenario, could improve the pitching staff with a middle or top-of-the-rotation arm.

He’s “ready to transact.”

“We want to add some impact to our offense,” Dipoto said. “Minimally, we want to go get one impact bat. Whether that’s a free agent or trade remains to be seen, and if we can manage to swing both, we’d like to get two.”

There’s a sense of normalcy in the current offseason market. Dipoto hasn’t felt a rush to make immediate moves, though the expectation is for a busy week in the business. Seattle’s roster should feature new faces come opening day on April 7, specifically those who could play on the left side of the field. That could mean a third baseman — which lines up with Seattle’s reported interest in Kris Bryant, who won the NL MVP in 2016 — or a left fielder capable of assuming center field duties when needed.

And of the pair of impact bats Dipoto desires, expect at least one to bat left-handed. That, he says, allows for the integration of right-handed top outfield prospect Julio Rodriguez, who already owns a spot on the team’s 40-man roster.

“He looks great,” Dipoto said of Rodriguez. “He’s in phenomenal shape. He’s gonna come in with high energy, and his potential to impact sooner than later is extremely high. I love the person, so I’m really looking forward to seeing him.

“There’s going to be a lot of hugs going around the locker room. My guess is Julio is going to be in the middle of many of them.”

Seattle plans to feature a “rotation” at designated hitter between Mitch Haniger, Kyle Lewis, Ty France, and Abraham Toro, in an effort to “maximize chances without overwhelming them with defensive reps,” Dipoto said.

Minor league camps commenced in previous weeks, unaffected by the lockout that shut down all 40-man rosters. Dipoto says what he saw from an up-and-coming influx of starting pitching prospects altered his offseason targets.

George Kirby, Levi Stoudt, and Brandon Williamson headline Seattle’s starting prospects that could appear in a Mariners uniform in 2022. They would join Ray, Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen, and Logan Gilbert in the rotation. That leaves Justin Dunn out of the equation. He last appeared in June 2021 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Another option for Dipoto is a versatile left-handed arm, one who could both start and make meaningful relief appearances from the bullpen, he said.

“We have adjusted some of our targets based on what we’ve seen over this offseason, and particularly over these last three weeks with some of our young players and what we think is a fairly prepared young group of starting pitchers,” Dipoto said.

Seattle received positive reports regarding Dunn’s health, though Dipoto said “we won’t know until we see for certain.” That aside, the team expects a healthy roster when teams convene next weekend for a condensed spring training session.

“We think everybody’s coming in healthy,” Dipoto said. “We don’t have anybody coming in who we feel like is restricted from the start.”

There’s excitement for 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis, who suffered a knee injury in late May 2021 and never returned to action. Dipoto hasn’t communicated with Lewis directly since Thursday’s new labor deal, but Lewis provided positive feedback and recorded offseason workouts. He appears “full-go and ready to play,” Dipoto said Friday.

Baseball’s latest deal added two playoff teams and nixed two-year-old extra-inning rules, meaning teams will no longer start the tenth inning with a base runner at second. Owners and players agreed on paid sponsorship decals for jerseys and helmets, and voted to increase the league’s minimum salary to $700,000, which increases each year by $20,000 through 2026.

The agreement added a draft lottery, implemented to discourage “tanking” or rebuilding for the purpose of snagging top draft selections.

“The deal that was reached yesterday… it’s just good for baseball,” Dipoto said. “It’s good that we have baseball back. I do think that we have gone a long way toward taking care of the young players, and I admire the (MLB Players Association) for taking the stance that they did.”