The Seattle Mariners made significant roster additions via trades in the week leading up to Tuesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto believes these moves have strengthened the team’s bid for the AL West title.
“I’m very proud of our group,” Dipoto said Tuesday afternoon. “We did a great job identifying market trends early and made decisive moves. This proactive approach gave us an advantage, and I’m really happy with what we accomplished. I feel like we’re meaningfully better than we were a week ago.”
The Mariners added outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays, first baseman Justin Turner and reliever Yimi Garcia from the Toronto Blue Jays, and reliever JT Chargois from the Miami Marlins. These trades didn’t involve the organization’s top-rated prospects, though they did part with valued players like outfielder Jonatan Clase, right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins, outfielder Aiden Smith, and outfielder RJ Schreck.
“Hopkins and Aiden Smith were tough to part with,” Dipoto said. “RJ Schreck has been phenomenal over the past few months, and he’s a high-character guy. It’s always tough to trade players you believe in, but we made the decision to strengthen our chances of winning the division.”
Dipoto mentioned the team’s efforts to add an infielder, with potential targets including Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz and Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., though those moves didn’t materialize.
“We had other irons in the fire, especially for infield bats. Ultimately, those players didn’t move,” Dipoto said. “The biggest names floated out there never seemed realistically available for us.”
Despite this, the Mariners did well, with Arozarena being one of the most significant bats moved before the deadline. The Garcia deal for Clase was also considered excellent value given the market for relievers.
The Mariners aimed to address the issues that saw their 10-game lead in the AL West disappear in a month. Garcia and Chargois bolster the bullpen, while Arozarena and Turner deepen the lineup. The offense will be at full strength when Julio Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford return from the injured list, both of whom were working on the field in Boston ahead of their game with the Red Sox.
“I hope we see Julio back sooner rather than later,” Dipoto said. “The new additions add personality to a team that was in a tough spot. We needed a little bit of juice.”
Seattle also traded reliever Ryne Stanek to the New York Mets for minor league outfielder Rhylan Thomas and sent first baseman Ty France to the Cincinnati Reds, along with cash considerations, for minor league catcher Andruw Salcedo. However, the four major league additions were the significant moves before the deadline.
“This year we’re in a more meaningful position compared to the last three years because we have a chance to win the division,” Dipoto said. “We took it seriously and, while we might not have achieved everything we wanted, we made moves that meaningfully improved our team.”
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